Senators Call for Sudan Sanctions Strategy
A bipartisan group of four senators announced this week that they will introduce a bill that would require the Biden administration to develop a “comprehensive strategy” to use sanctions and other tools to protect civilians from Sudan’s "brutal" civil war.
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Under the proposed Sudan Accountability Act, the strategy also would have to describe plans to enforce the U.N. Security Council’s arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region, where large numbers of civilians have been massacred and displaced.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., intends to introduce the legislation with Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Todd Young, R-Ind.
“The Sudanese people continue to suffer unspeakable atrocities, including genocide and war crimes,” Risch said. “It is past time the perpetrators of these atrocities be held accountable.”
Discussions on a potential House companion bill are underway, Export Compliance Daily has learned.
The Senate announcement came three weeks after a State Department official said the Biden administration was developing additional potential sanctions it could impose on leaders of Sudan’s two warring parties if they continued to resist peace talks (see 2409120027). The official also said the administration was considering additional sanctions against those that provide weapons to the combatants in violation of the arms embargo.
In May, Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would prohibit U.S. arms sales to the United Arab Emirates until the administration certifies that the UAE is no longer providing material support to the militia group that is fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (see 2405230004). Her bill is pending before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.