White House extends US National Emergency on Sudan

President Donald Trump has renewed the US national emergency with respect to Sudan, saying that actions and policies of the Government of Sudan “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”.

In a statement issued by the White House press office yesterday, President Trump says: “Despite recent positive developments, the crisis constituted by the actions and policies of the Government of Sudan that led to the declaration of a national emergency in Executive Order 13067 [by President Bill Clinton] of November 3, 1997; the expansion of that emergency in Executive Order 13400 [by President George W Bush] of April 26, 2006; and with respect to which additional steps were taken in Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006, Executive Order 13761 [by President Barak Obama] of January 13, 2017, and Executive Order 13804 of July 11, 2017, has not been resolved.

“These actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I have, therefore, determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13067, as expanded by Executive Order 13400, with respect to Sudan.”

Darfur conflict

Executive Order 13400 of April 26, 2006 and its extensions cited effectively block property and assets and any business transactions with individuals connected to the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region.

The White House statement explains that on January 13, 2017, by Executive Order 13761, President Trump found that positive efforts by the Government of Sudan between July 2016 and January 2017 improved certain conditions that Executive Orders 13067 and 13412 were intended to address. Given these developments, and in order to encourage the Government of Sudan to sustain and enhance these efforts, section 1 of Executive Order 13761 provided that sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13067 and the entirety of Executive Order 13412 would be revoked as of July 12, 2017, provided that the criteria in section 12(b) of Executive Order 13761 had been met.

Travel warning

On October 16, the US Department of State today issued a new travel warning to US Citizens of the risks of travel to Sudan. “US citizens should avoid all travel to the Darfur states, Blue Nile state, and South Kordofan state and consider carefully before planning travel to other areas of Sudan due to the risks of terrorism, armed conflict, and violent crime”.