 | |
 United States |  Sudan |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| U.S. Embassy,Khartoum (operations suspended)[1] | Embassy of Sudan, Washington, D.C.[2] |
| Envoy | |
| Chargé d'affaires Colleen Crenwelge | Ambassador Mohamed Abdalla Idris |
Sudan–United States relations are thebilateral relations betweenSudan and theUnited States. The United States government has been critical of Sudan'shuman rights record and has dispatched a strongUN Peacekeeping force toDarfur. Relations between both countries in recent years have greatly improved, with Sudan'spost-revolutionary government compensating American victims ofal-Qaeda terror attacks, the removal of Sudan from the State Department's blacklist ofstate sponsors of terrorism and theUnited States Congress having reinstated Sudan'ssovereign immunity in December 2020.[3][4]
The United States established diplomatic relations with Sudan in 1956, following its independence from joint administration by Egypt and the United Kingdom.[5] After the outbreak of theSix-Day War in June 1967, Sudan declared war on Israel and broke diplomatic relations with the U.S.[6] Relations improved after July 1971, when theSudanese Communist Party attempted to overthrow PresidentNimeiry, and Nimeiry suspected Soviet involvement.[6] Relations improved further after the U.S. provided assistance for the resettlement ofrefugees following the 1972 peace settlement that ended theFirst Sudanese Civil War with the south.[6] Sudan and the United States reestablished diplomatic relations in 1972.[5]
On 1 March 1973, Palestinianterrorists of theBlack September organization murdered U.S. AmbassadorCleo A. Noel and Deputy Chief of Mission Curtis G. Moore inKhartoum.[6] Sudanese officials arrested the terrorists and tried them on murder charges.[6] In June 1974, however, they were released to the custody of the Egyptian government.[6] The U.S. Ambassador to Sudan was withdrawn in protest.[6] Although the U.S. Ambassador returned to Khartoum in November, relations with Sudan remained static until early 1976, when President Nimeiri mediated the release of 10 American hostages being held byEritrean insurgents in rebel strongholds in northernEthiopia.[6] In 1976, the U.S. resumed economic assistance to Sudan.[6]
The United States went from an unusually important and close relationship with Sudan in the early 1980s to one that began to deteriorate near the end of theNimeiry government.[7]
In late 1985, there was a reduction in staff at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum because of the presence of a large contingent ofLibyan terrorists.[6] In April 1986, relations with Sudan deteriorated when the U.S. bombedTripoli, Libya.[6] A U.S. Embassy employee was shot on 16 April 1986.[6] Immediately following this incident, all non-essential personnel and all dependents left for six months.[6] At this time, Sudan was the single largest recipient of U.S. development and military assistance in sub-Saharan Africa.[6]
Relations between the countries declined quickly following the1989 military coup and the rise of Islamist leaders in Sudan's government.[7] Sudanese support for Iraq during the 1990–91Gulf War helped ensure the downturn.[7] The United States, pushed by domestic interest groups such asevangelical Christians and theCongressional Black Caucus, expressed outspoken unhappiness over Khartoum's handling of the war with theSPLM/A, the human-rights situation, including alleged government support for slavery, and its welcoming environment toward international terrorist groups.[7] Washington put Sudan on itslist of state supporters of terrorism in 1993, an action that resulted in additional U.S. sanctions against Sudan.[7]
The administration of PresidentBill Clinton subsequently worked to isolate Sudan.[7] During the mid-1990s, it instituted a Front Line States policy of pressure against Khartoum with the assistance ofUganda,Ethiopia, andEritrea.[7] Growing unhappiness over Sudan's policies and terrorist threat information aimed at Americans in Sudan, much of which turned out to be false, caused the United States in the spring of 1996 to relocate all Americans from the embassy in Khartoum to the U.S. Embassy inNairobi.[7] The embassy in Khartoum remained open but staffed by Sudanese and occasional Americans visiting from Kenya.[7] At the urging of the United States, Sudan forcedOsama bin Laden to leave the country in May 1996, but Washington did not follow this development by trying to improve ties with Sudan.[7] The low point in relations occurred in August 1998, just days after thebombing of the American embassies inDar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, when a U.S. naval vessel launched cruise missiles against theAl-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum on the questionable grounds that it was linked to the production of chemical weapons.[7]
At the end of the Clinton administration, the United States opened a dialogue with Sudan on counterterrorism, and Sudan was receptive.[7] TheGeorge W. Bush administration generally continued a tough policy toward Sudan, but theevents of September 11, 2001, had a dramatic impact on the relationship.[7] The United States moved counterterrorism to the highest foreign-policy priority, and Sudan, taking advantage of this new situation, stepped up its counterterrorism cooperation with the United States.[7] President Bush nominated former SenatorJohn Danforth as his special envoy for Sudan in 2001.[7] Danforth focused on ending theSudanese civil war, but the U.S. Congress and the evangelical community remained highly critical of Sudan.[7] The United States pursued a policy of carrots and sticks.[7] In October 2002, President Bush signed the congressionally initiatedSudan Peace Act, which provided for punitive financial and diplomatic steps against Sudan if Washington concluded that Khartoum was acting in bad faith at the peace talks.[7] At the same time, Sudan offered significant cooperation on counterterrorism, a response appreciated in Washington.[7]
The United States, working withIGAD, Britain, and Norway, played a key role in bringing the civil war in Sudan to an end.[7] While this development had the potential to significantly improve Sudanese–American relations, Sudan's botched handling of thecrisis in Darfur that began in 2003 set back relations with Washington.[7] In 2006, under pressure from Congress and domestic interest groups, the Bush administration named another special envoy for Sudan,Andrew Natsios, who resigned at the end of 2007 and was replaced by former diplomatRichard S. Williamson.[7] The United States took the lead in requesting theUN Security Council to impose additional international sanctions against Sudan.[7] Failing to convince the UN to institute broader sanctions, President Bush signed a bill at the end of 2007 that allowed state and local governments to cut investment ties with companies doing business with Sudan.[7] At the same time, the United States committed US$2.7 billion in fiscal years 2005–6 for humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping in Darfur, implementation of theCPA, and reconstruction and development inSouth Sudan.[7] Khartoum continued to cooperate with the United States on counterterrorism.[7] The United States also was the single largest holder—in the amount of US$1.5 billion—of Sudanese debt.[7] The United States supported full implementation of the CPA and theDarfur Peace Agreement and rapid deployment of more than 20,000 additional peacekeepers to Darfur.[7]
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The situation in Darfur dominated the United States–Sudan relationship until early in the administration of PresidentBarack H. Obama.[7] Obama named Scott Gration as the new special envoy for Sudan.[7] He changed the tone of the dialogue with the government in Khartoum and began contact with Darfur's highly fragmented rebel movements.[7] He also concluded that the United States must give at least as much attention to successful implementation of the CPA as to resolution of the crisis in Darfur.[7] He favored engagement with Khartoum over confrontation and proposed a policy of engagement that included rewards and penalties.[7] Gration's policy had support in the White House but detractors elsewhere in the U.S. government and some harsh critics on Capitol Hill and in the “Save Darfur Coalition” community.[7] Late in 2010, the United States spelled out the conditions for the normalization of ties with Sudan.[7] They included full implementation of the CPA and the holding of a referendum on the future of South Sudan in January 2011.[7] The United States significantly increased the number of personnel devoted to an effort to assure this outcome.[7] Washington also noted that there must be peace and accountability in Darfur.[7]
In 2016, the National Security Council Director for African Affairs,Marc Gustafson, developed the Five Track Plan, which was a one-year diplomatic effort to lift sanctions from Sudan in exchange for a series of steps related to humanitarian aid, capturingJoseph Kony, ending conflict with South Sudan, improving counter-terrorism cooperation, and ending hostilities in Darfur.[8] The Sudanese and the United States completed all of the tracks successfully only weeks before the end of Obama's presidency. On 13 January 2017, the U.S. lifted economic and trade sanctions on Sudan after the Sudanese Government met all the objectives. The White House announced the easing of sanctions as part of a five-track engagement process.[9] On 16 March 2017, the U.S. and Sudan announced the resumption of military relations after exchanging military attachés.[10] In April 2017, it was announced that the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was “especially keen to see sanctions lifted“, had decided to open a large office in Khartoum.[11][12] Sudan was also removed from the list of Muslim-majority countries on theAmerican travel ban.[11] On 6 October 2017, the U.S. permanently lifted all 1997 sanctions after Sudan cut all ties with the North Korean regime ofKim Jong Un.[11]
Al-Bashir was deposed as Sudan's president in acoup d'état in April 2019. In September 2019, Sudan's new prime minister,Abdalla Hamdok, said that he held useful talks with U.S. officials while at the United Nations, and expressed hope Khartoum could “very soon" be removed from the U.S. state sponsor of terrorism list.[13] In December 2019, U.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo stated that the U.S. and Sudan are to begin exchanging ambassadors after 23 years of no diplomatic relations.[14] That same month, Hamdok became the first Sudanese leader to visit Washington D.C. since 1985.[15]
The last U.S. Ambassador wasTim Carney, who left the post on 30 November 1997. Also in December, it was reported that the Sudanese transitional government will close the offices of Hamas, Hezbollah, and any other Islamic group designated as terrorist by the U.S.[16]
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As of June 2019, the office of U.S.Ambassador to Sudan was vacant. TheChargé d’Affaires wasSteven Koutsis[17] and the Deputy Chief of Mission was Ellen B. Thorburn.[18]
On 5 May 2020, Sudan appointed Noureldin Sati, a veteran diplomat, as ambassador.[19]
In August 2020,Mike Pompeo became the first US secretary of state to visit Sudan sinceCondoleezza Rice in 2005.[a] The visit came on the heels of theIsrael–United Arab Emirates peace agreement. His visit was meant to discuss the possibility of opening relations between Sudan and Israel and exhibit assistance and support for Sudan's shift to democracy.[21]
On 19 October 2020, PresidentDonald Trump announced that he would lift the designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism once $335 million in compensation from Sudan to American families victims of terrorism was deposited into an escrow account.[22] On 23 October 2020, President Donald Trump officially notified theCongress of his intention to remove Sudan from the State Department's blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.[23]
On 14 December 2020, the United States officially removed Sudan from the list after itagreed to establish relations with Israel.[24]
On 6 January 2021, U.S. Treasury SecretarySteven Mnuchin signed amemorandum of understanding with Sudanese Acting Finance Minister Heba Mohamed Ali, in order to clear Sudan's arrears with theWorld Bank, and to allow their access to more than US$1 billion in annual lending.[25]
On 1 March 2021, Sudanese officials welcomed the missile guided destroyerUSS Winston S. Churchill atPort Sudan, the first time in decades that the U.S. naval forces had visited the country.[26] The commander of Sudan’s naval forces, Alnairi Hassan, described the visit as a momentous occasion and said Sudan was happy to receive the U.S. warship.[26]
On October 25, 2021, the Sudanese military, led by GeneralAbdel Fattah al-Burhanoverthrew the government and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The United States condemned the coup, called for Hamdok's release and suspended $700 million in aid to Sudan.[27] Hamdok was reinstated as Prime Minister on November 21; the move was welcomed by the United States.[28]
In April 2023, after a lot of fighting between the regular military and the RSF, the United States and other countries have evacuated their diplomats and citizens.[29]
In March 2025, reports emerged that the United States andIsrael had discussed with Sudan,Somalia, andSomaliland the possibility of forcibly relocatingPalestinians fromGaza to theseEast African regions. This initiative, which was initiated followingUS President Donald Trump’s proposal to displace Palestinians, was rejected by Sudanese officials, while Somalia and Somaliland denied any involvement. The proposal included incentives like financial, diplomatic, and security support in exchange for resettlement. This plan sparked international backlash, with critics condemning it asethnic cleansing.[30]
Despite policy disagreements, the U.S. has been a major donor of humanitarian aid to Sudan throughout the last quarter of the 20th century.[6] The U.S. provided assistance for resettlement ofrefugees following the 1972 peace settlement that brought theFirst Sudanese Civil War with the south to an end.[6] The U.S. was also a significant source of aid in the March 1989 "Operation Lifeline Sudan," which delivered 100,000 metric tons of food into both government and SPLA-held areas of Sudan, averting widespread starvation.[6] In 1991, the U.S. made large donations to alleviate food shortages caused by a two-year drought.[6] In October 1997, the U.S. imposed comprehensive economic, trade, and financial sanctions against Sudan.[6] However, during another drought in 2000–01, the U.S. and the broader international community responded to avert mass starvation in Sudan.[6] In 2001, the Bush Administration named a Presidential Envoy for Peace in Sudan to explore what role the U.S. could play in endingSudan's civil war and enhancing the delivery of humanitarian aid.[6] Forfiscal years 2005–2006, the U.S. committed almost $2.6 billion to Sudan for humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping in Darfur as well as support for the implementation of thepeace accord and reconstruction and development in southern Sudan.[6]
Sudan was added to theState Sponsors of Terrorism list on 12 August 1993, alleging that Sudan harbored members of theAbu Nidal Organization,Hezbollah, andIslamic Jihad.[31] In 1998, theAl-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was destroyed by amissile attack launched by theUnited States government, killing one employee and wounding eleven.[32][33] The U.S. government claimed that the factory was used for the processing ofVX nerve agent and that the owners of the plant had ties to theterrorist groupal-Qaeda. These justifications for the bombing, however, were disputed by the owners of the plant, the Sudanese government, and other governments.
In response to Sudan's continued complicity of hunger inunabated violence inDarfur, U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush imposed new economic sanctions on Sudan in May 2007.[6]
President Barack Obama sent Special EnvoyScott Gration to Sudan to improve diplomatic conditions, and discuss ways to avert theDarfur conflict. On 9 September 2009, the U.S. published a new law to ease sanctions on parts of Sudan.
On 9 July 2011, the United States officially recognized the independence from Sudan ofSouth Sudan.[34]
On 28 August 2013, Obama namedDonald E. Booth Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.[35][36] Booth served as the US Envoy until 2017. He led the U.S. government's effort to "normalize relations" with the regime in Sudan[37][38] and worked to make it easier for Sudan to comply with U.S. requirements to lift sanctions.
On 10 June 2019, PresidentDonald Trump re-appointed Booth as Special Envoy for Sudan.[39] In October 2020, Trump announced that the US would remove Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list after Sudan had agreed to pay $335 million in compensation to the families of victims of the1998 United States embassy bombings.[40] Sudan was officially removed from the list on 14 December 2020.[41]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)| Africa |  | |
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