United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called for Sudan to be removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, making it eligible again for debt relief and financing from the IMF and World Bank.
“It is time to remove Sudan from the list of state supporters of terrorism, and to mobilise massive international support to enable Sudan to overcome its challenges”, Guterres said during an address at the annual African Union summit.
The US added Sudan to its terrorism list in 1993 over claims that then-President Omar al-Bashir’s government was supporting terrorist groups. It began a formal process to remove the country from the list in 2017, but the decision was delayed when the country’s mass protests erupted.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has repeatedly urged the West remove the country from the list, saying it is the only way to save its democratic transition from a plunging economy.
“It was the former regime that supported terrorism and the Sudanese people revolted against it. These sanctions have caused tremendous suffering to our people”, Hamdok previously said.
“Therefore we call on the United States to remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and to stop punishing the people of Sudan for crimes committed by the former regime,” he added.
