SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Atlantic Council - Removing Sudan’s terrorism designation: Proceeding with caution
Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Cameron Hudson identifies US concerns that impede the lifting of Sudan’s State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) designation.
Hudson suggests that the US is concerned that it may lose the leverage of the SST designation in deterring future bad behaviour, as it does not want to inadvertently empower the armed factions “it wants to see removed from the political scene.”
According to Hudson, the case often cited by US officials is that of Myanmar, where sanctions were lifted in 2013, only for the military to begin a “genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya community.”
In addition, Hudson argues that Prime Minister Hamdok’s survival is crucial for US SST delisting, with the US cautious delisting might ensure that Hamdok “rapidly, and inadvertently, outlive his usefulness in the eyes of the security sector [who are believed to] not yet given up their designs on power.”