US envoy asks Senate to lift Sudan sanctions and terror classification
Major Gen. Scott Gration is President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, tasked with finding solutions to the Darfur crisis and with the implementation of the 2005 North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
On July 30 he testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about US policy in Sudan, and made several recommendations.
Among the highlights from his testimony:
US objectives
“We want a country that is governed responsibly, justly, and democratically, a country that is at peace with itself and with its neighbors, that is economically viable, and a country that works together with the United States on common interests.
“We want an inclusive and durable peace in Darfur. We want full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and a peaceful post-referendum period whether as a single, stable, and unified Sudan or a Sudan that divides peacefully and orderly into two separate states. We want only what is best for the Sudanese people.”
US engagement
Responding to critiques that he was soft on Khartoum:
“Engagement does not mean the absence of pressure, or doling out incentives based on wishful thinking. On the contrary, it is about working to change conditions on the ground.”
Four pillars of US policy Peace in Darfur
“Most urgently, we want a definitive end to conflict and gross human rights abuses in Darfur and justice for its many victims…. To resolve this humanitarian tragedy, we believe only a negotiated political settlement between the government of Sudan and all parties to the conflict will bring sustainable peace to Darfur.
“Our goal is to conclude an agreement that will allow people to go back to their home villages or a place of their choosing to resume their lives in safety, stability, self-sufficiency, and security.”
Implementation of CPA
“Our second pillar focuses on sustaining peace between the North and the South. In January 2005, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ending a 22-year war…. Sudan will hold national elections in April 2010 and referenda in Southern Sudan and the Abyei region beginning nine months later in January 2011.
“Our timeline is so very short; it is urgent that we act now to support the full implementation of the CPA…. Resolving the issues of North and South is critical to tackling challenges in Darfur and other parts of the country.”
Stable Sudan government
“The third pillar calls for a functioning and stable Sudanese Government, and one that will either include a capable Government of Southern Sudan or coexist peacefully with an independent southern Sudan.
“Our strategy seeks to help the South improve its security capacity to defend against external and internal threats while striving to ensure a potentially independent Southern Sudan is politically and economically viable.”
Anti-terror cooperation
“Our fourth and final pillar is to seek increased and enhanced cooperation with the Sudanese government to counter terrorism and to promote regional security, consistent with—and not at the expense of—our overall objectives of peace and security in Sudan.”
Sudan not terror sponsor
General Gration described the inclusion of Sudan on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism as a “political decision” rather than one based on merits. He said the intelligence community could not make a case for this listing, and noted “there is no evidence that Sudan is a state sponsor of terror.”
Lift US sanctions
He said that “at some point we’re going to have to unwind some of these sanctions, so we can do the very things we need to do…. The equipment we need to develop the south can’t come through because the ports of [Sudan] are sanctioned.”
He observed that the “unintended consequences” of the sanctions are “preventing us from doing the development we absolutely need to do” in order to alleviate the suffering in Darfur and to improve conditions in the South.
He said “sanctions are hurting the people…. We need space on these sanctions… we need help from Congress.”
Darfur is improving
The envoy acknowledged that “we’re coping with a situation that’s very dire and severe”, but pointed out that “There is a significant difference between what happened in 2004 and 2003… and what’s happening today.”
Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) agreed to the need for an overall change in US policy towards Sudan.
Speaking of his recent trip to Sudan, he said, “When I visited Sudan in April of this year, I came away convinced that we need to build a strategic framework that moves beyond simple oppositions like carrots versus sticks or the South versus Darfur. Instead, we need a nuanced, comprehensive strategy for Sudan as a whole.”
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) also found US policy on Sudan at fault, saying sanctions were the equivalent of “cutting our nose off to spite our face.” He also said “There is no evidence today that Sudan is involved as a state sponsor of terror.”