Sudan committed to fighting terrorism and human trafficking: al-Bashir
October 2, 2017 (KHARTOUM) The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Monday has stressed his country’s commitment to fighting terrorism, money-laundering and human trafficking to consolidate regional and international peace and security.
The White House said in a notice on Saturday that these countries will be subject to restrictions for the fiscal year 2018, which started on Sunday.
The move comes nearly ten days before a decision on the permanent revocation of economic sanctions on Sudan that many expect on 12 October.
Speaking before the National Assembly on Monday, al-Bashir said that “Sudan is fully committed to the international partnership to consolidate regional and international peace and security and the serious cooperation to combat terrorism, money-laundering and human trafficking crimes”.
Sudan, which is identified as a source of migrants and a transit country, is cooperating with the EU countries to combat the illegal migration from Sudan and Horn of Africa countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
In April 2016, the EU officially allocated Sudan €100 million to improve the living conditions for refugees, help Sudanese returnees to reintegrate back into society, and to improve security at the border.
Also, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international agency on combating money laundering and terrorism financing, in 2015 removed Sudan from its blacklist, saying the east-African nation is no longer a threat to the integrity of the international financial system.
The Sudanese parliament adopted in June 2014 a law to combat money laundering and terrorism financing that contained articles related to consolidating investigations and financial intelligence which is the enforcement mechanism that receives notifications and information from financial institutions and other parties.
Sudan was placed on the U.S. terrorism list in 1993 over allegations it was harbouring Islamist militants working against regional and international targets.
Despite intense lobbying by Khartoum, the U.S. administration kept Sudan on the terrorism list drawing frustration and rebuke from Sudanese officials.
(ST)