Sudan removed from list of state sponsored terrorism countries by US
The United States has formally removed Sudan’s designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, 27 years after putting the country on its blacklist. US made this announcement on 14th December in Khartoum. This US decision will be published in the Federal Register. It is mention worthy here that The US government added Sudan to its list of “state sponsors of terrorism” in 1993 over allegations that al-Bashir’s government was supporting “terrorist” groups. The designation made Sudan technically ineligible for debt relief and much-needed financing from major international institutions.
Three countries now – Iran, North Korea and Syria – remain on the State Department’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism”.
US President Donald Trump said in early October the US was going to remove Sudan from the list after Khartoum paid a $335m settlement to American victims of an attack by armed groups on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Trump sent his notice to the US Congress on October 26 and, under US law, a country exits the terror list 45 days later, unless Congress objects, which it has not.
Meanwhile Sudan's prime minister Abdalla Hamdok has said that Sudan does not want to link its removal from a US “terrorism list” that is hindering access to foreign funding for the country’s economy with the normalisation of relations with Israel.
USA's provision on list of State sponsored terrorism :
Countries determined by the Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism are designated pursuant to three laws:
- section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act,
- section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act,
- and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act.
Taken together, the four main categories of sanctions resulting from designation under these authorities include restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defense exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.
Designation under the above-referenced authorities also implicates other sanctions laws that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with state sponsors. Currently there are 3 countries designated under these authorities: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Iran, and Syria.
