Pan-African Parliament to lobby US Congress over Sudan sanctions

A member of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has revealed plans to form a negotiating committee to lobby the US Congress over the economic sanctions imposed against Sudan, the Sudan Media Centre (SMC) has reported. Speaking after a visit to North Darfur with three other parliamentarians, PAP member for Tunisia Munkhar Rahmi said that the committee will be tasked with making members of the US Congress aware of the issues facing the people of Sudan.The PAP delegation met with Governor Abdul Wahid Yusuf on a fact-finding visit to Darfur to assess the situation on the ground and gauge the impact of the 20-year old economic embargo imposed on Sudan.

Rahmi said that the visit was also a means to assess the plight faced by refugees and displaced persons and to review the status of the disarmament and development programmes. He concluded that the blockade has had a tangible impact on health, transport services and infrastructure, and appeared to be hindering Sudan’s attempts to improve the lives of its citizens.

The head of the delegation, Annour Victor, added that, in his view, the sanctions stood in the way of the peace process by impeding efforts for an economic recovery in Sudan. “We have closely monitored the effects of the economic sanctions imposed against Sudan,” he explained, “and the Pan-African Parliament has consistently condemned their implementation and demanded that Washington rescind the measures.”

The delegation is scheduled to hold meetings in Khartoum with Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, the Assistant President of the Republic; the governor of the Bank of Sudan, Dr. Hazem Abdul-Gadir Ahmed Babiker; and the Ministers of Health, Transport and Education to assess the impact of sanctions on those ministries.