Sudan’s Al Bashir announces two-year development programme

President Omar Al Bashir has announced a two-year development programme starting early 2018, that includes the collection of weapons, disarmament and reintegration, voluntary return of displaced people, and addressing problems with pasture and animal husbandry.

On Monday, Al Bashir held his speech for the National Assembly, composed of the Parliament and the State Council. He said that the two-year development programme, which will run until the end of 2020, aims to achieve comprehensive peace according to political, social, cultural and legal programmes.

He pointed out that the development programme will focus on the collection of weapons, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, in order “to stabilise the post-conflict situations” and prevent further conflict.

He also highlighted the pursue for an environment that is conducive for the voluntary return of displaced people, to rebuild what has been destroyed by war, and enable the native administrations to conduct a reconciliation process in areas of civil and regional conflicts.

Furthermore the development programme emphasises treating civil and regional conflicts by holding peace conferences. Especially the nomadic paths for which old traditional paths that have been destroyed, must be revived. The president added that conflicts among tribes, pastoralists and farmers can be overcome by addressing pasture problems and solving the problems that arise in animal husbandry and agriculture.

Human trafficking

“Sudan is fully committed to the international partnership to consolidate regional and international peace and security and the serious cooperation to combat terrorism, money-laundering and human trafficking crimes,” said Al Bashir.

On Saturday, the United States added Sudan to a list of countries it accuses of failing to fight human trafficking. Under a law called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000), the United States does not provide non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance to any country that fails to comply with minimum standards for eliminating trafficking and is not making efforts to do so.

The list now includes Iran, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan and Sudan. The White House said in a notice that these countries will be subject to restrictions for the fiscal year 2018, which started on Sunday.

The move comes nearly ten days before a decision on the permanent lifting of economic sanctions on Sudan that is planned to fall on 12 October.