Washington—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement on the decision for the United States to formally rescind Sudan’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism:
“I welcome the Administration’s notification to Congress, which was transmitted today, that it intends to remove Sudan from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List. This historic development ends a dark chapter in U.S.-Sudan relations, and opens up a new era in the bilateral relationship. To that end, I hope that the Sudan Democratic Transition, Accountability, and Fiscal Transparency Act, which passed the House as part of the Defense Authorization Act, makes it across the finish line and becomes law. I also hope a fair and equitable settlement is reached between the Government of Sudan and the previous regime’s victims of terrorism.”
Background:
The Sudan Democratic Transition, Accountability, and Fiscal Transparency Act provides robust support for the civilian-led transitional government by:
- authorizing assistance for democratic governance, rule of law, and human rights, including support for free, fair, and credible elections;
- authorizing support for development programs, including those focused on providing economic opportunities for youth and previously marginalized populations;
- supporting long-term peace and stability in Sudan by authorizing support for conflict mitigation, including efforts to strengthen civilian oversight of the Sudanese security and intelligence services;
- promoting accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by authorizing support to build Sudan’s judicial capacity to pursue prosecutions in domestic or hybrid international courts;
- supporting multilateral financing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and debt relief from international financial institutions provided that certain governance and fiscal transparency benchmarks are met;
- advancing the effort to assist the Government of Sudan in recovering stolen assets; and
- requiring the Administration to submit to Congress a strategy for supporting the civilian-led Government of Sudan during the transition period.
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