‘Save Darfur’ group criticizes Bush administration over Sudan sanctions
May 4, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — A coalition of Darfur advocacy groups in the United States accused the Bush administration of dragging its feet on enforcing Sudan divestment law.
The groups including the Genocide Intervention Network, the Save Darfur Coalition, the NAACP, American Jewish World Service, the National Association of Evangelicals and STAND alleged in a statement that the White House missed the deadline for implementing one of the provisions under the law.
The statement said that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) failed to provide clearance for a rule prohibiting federal contracts to companies believed to be conducting business in Sudan unless they certify otherwise.
The OMB functions as an arm of the White House in overseeing the activities of federal agencies and execution of laws and programs to ensure compliance with the President’s budget and administration policies.
The Sudan divestment bill endorsed unanimously by the Congress last year aims at providing protection from lawsuits to State and local divestment efforts in Sudan to sanction it over the Darfur crisis labeled genocide by the US administration.
The law specifically targets the main sources of revenue of Khartoum; oil, power production, mining and military equipment. It will only impact foreign companies since most American businesses are prohibited from dealing with Sudan under executive order issued in 1997 by former president Bill Clinton.
However Bush said in a statement after signing the bill that his administration will “enforce this legislation in a manner that does not conflict with that [presidential foreign policy] authority”.
The Sudan divestment law mandated that “120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [December 31, 2007] the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation”.
The amendments in accordance with the new law are to “ensure that each contract entered into by such executive agency for the procurement of goods or services includes a clause that requires the contractor to certify to the contracting officer that the contractor does not conduct business operations in Sudan”.
It is not clear what caused the delay in implementing this section of Sudan divestment law. The US administration is currently negotiating with the Sudanese government on series of steps to normalize ties which includes lifting of sanctions.
The US Department of Treasury also appeared to have held back on punishing foreign companies for violating Sudan sanctions.
Last February Adam Szubin, Director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) told Reuters in an interview that his office came up with a list of companies who operate inside the US that failed to comply with Sudan sanctions.
Szubin told Reuters back then that OFAC agents “built up a queue of enforcement actions against violators that will be rolled out in as early as a month’s time”.
Last March Sudan Tribune contacted the US Treasury for an update on Szubin’s statements and whether civil penalties against those violators will go as planned.
However John Rankin, a Public Affairs Specialist on Terrorism and Financial in the US Treasury declined to comment on any part of Sudan Tribune inquiry.
Mark Hanis, executive director of the Genocide Intervention Network said in the statement that “Contract prohibition sends a clear message to these foreign companies that the privilege of receiving U.S. contracts will not be extended to those who fund genocide”.
“Focused pressure must be applied to Khartoum to change its behavior with respect to Darfur” he added.
The Darfur advocacy groups said that one of the companies that will be most impacted by the implementation of the rule would be Alstom of France “which is currently engaged in the Merowe Dam, a major Sudanese government-sponsored power project that has already displaced tens of thousands of Sudanese and will provide Khartoum with the resources to continue the genocide in Darfur”.
“Alstom stands to lose more than $100 million in contracts with the U.S. government when the provision is implemented” the statement read.
International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.
(ST)