U.S. seeks improvement of Sudan’s human rights record

KHARTOUM, August 11, 2003 (dpa) — Senior U.S. State Department official Michael Southwick on Monday said Sudan had to improve its human rights record before America could normalise relations with the African country.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with Sudan’s Minister of Justice Ali Mohammed Osman, Southwick said the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush was eager to establish dialogue with Sudan but only on condition that the Sudanese government worked to achieve a democratic transformation and promote individual rights.

Southwick, who arrived in Khartoum on a regional human rights fact-finding mission, expressed reservations concerning the country’s implementation of strict Islamic Sharia laws on crimes such as adultery, theft, and blasphemy.

Southwick also said his government wanted Sudan to end slavery and the abduction of children and women commonly practised in various regions of the country.