Sponsor of Terrorism List

Why in news?

The US removed Sudan from its State Sponsor of Terrorism list, of which the North African country was a part for over 27 years.

What happened?

• The listing kept Sudan off the global financial system since 1993.
• President Donald Trump said he would be removing Sudan from the terrorism list, in exchange for $335 million as compensation.
• This amount will be paid for victims of terror attacks on US embassies in East Africa in 1998 and on a US warship in Yemen in 2000.
• After the removal, Sudan normalised its relations with Israel.

What is the US State Sponsor of Terrorism list?

• The US Secretary of State designates countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism as “State Sponsors of Terrorism”.
• The US can place four types of sanctions on countries part of the list,
  1. Restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance;
  2. A ban on defence exports and sales;
  3. Certain controls over exports of dual use items; and
  4. Miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.
• Sanctions can also be placed on countries and persons that engage in certain trade with designated countries.
• After Sudan’s delisting, three countries remain with the designation: Syria (listed in 1979), Iran (1984) and North Korea (2017).
• Sudan’s delisting would require approval from the US Congress and would take several weeks.

Why has Trump removed Sudan from the list now?

• Trump, who seeks re-election, wants to impress evangelical Christian voters in the US, who are seen as favouring pro-Israel policies.
• So, in the past four years, Trump has doubled down on measures considered favourable to Israel, such as
  1. Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and
  2. Facilitated the normalising of relations between Israel and two Arab states– the UAE and Bahrain.
• Evangelicals form a major part of Trump’s conservative base.
• So, Sudan was removed from the terrorism list to make sure that it too would recognise Israel.

When and how was Sudan put in the list in the first place?

• The US added Sudan to the terrorism list in 1993.
• It was added after it was accused of harbouring groups such as Hezbollah and Palestinian militant outfits which US deems as terrorists.
• At the time, Sudan was ruled by dictator Omar al-Bashir, who had come to power in 1989 after toppling an elected government.
• Bashir was also blamed for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa, and the 2000 bombing of the US warship Cole in Yemen.

What were the impacts?

• After its designation in the US terrorism list, Sudan was cut off from the global economy, and was starved of foreign investment.
• Its economy suffered another blow in 2011, when Christians and Animists in southern parts of the country, seceded to form the new country of South Sudan.
• This took away more than three-quarters of Sudan’s oil reserves.
• The country’s financial woes led to high inflation and price rises in essential commodities.
• This led to protests that led to Bashir being ousted from power in 2019.

What removal from the list means for Sudan?

• Since Bashir’s removal, an unelected transitional government consisting of both civilian and military leaders has been ruling Sudan.
• The new leadership has sought to veer the country away from Bashir’s hardline Islamic policies.
• However, Sudan’s continued presence on the list, despite Bashir’s ouster, added to the transitional government’s challenges.
• Now that it has been delisted, Sudan would rejoin the global economy.
• It will be able to access foreign investments and debt relief from international financial institutions (IFIs).
• However, Sudan’s government could face a domestic backlash as many blame the US of arm-twisting Sudan into compliance to recognise Israel.

Source: The Indian Express