The US Congress approved Friday a bill that supports the democratic transition in Sudan, tightens oversight of the Sudanese security and intelligence forces, and includes an assessment of the country's security sector reforms by the Sudanese government, such as dismantling militias and strengthening civilian control of the military forces.
It also expresses the lawmakers’ substantial support for providing aid to facilitate the political transition in Khartoum. This bill has been called the Sudan Democratic Transition, Accountability and Fiscal Transparency Act of 2020, and it enjoys broad support from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Accordingly, it was included in the Defense Financing bill that Congress passed with a great bipartisan consensus. The draft law requires the State Department to submit a report on its strategy, including the goals of the United States for a peaceful political transition in Sudan, and the plan it will adopt to achieve these goals.
In addition, the bill requires an assessment of the reforms needed to promote human rights and accountability, and a description of the efforts to achieve these reforms, in addition to another assessment of security sector reforms in the country by the Sudanese government, such as dismantling militias, and strengthening civilian control of the military.
According to the text of the bill, lawmakers ask the US president to provide support for efforts to protect human rights, extend the rule of law and democratic governance, in addition to supporting programs aimed at providing economic growth and the productivity of the private sector.
It also pushes for support of strategies aimed at enhancing opportunities for long-term peace and stability, and the accountability of Sudanese security and intelligence forces.
The draft text adds, “upon certification that Sudan has taken steps to improve fiscal transparency, the Department of the Treasury and the State Department must engage with international financial institutions to restructure, reschedule, or cancel the sovereign debt of Sudan.”
