ICC Note
On Friday November 11, the Deputy Under-Secretary of State called on the government in Khartoum to promote religious freedom and to stop the destruction of Churches and places of Worship. He went on to say that the US Government will be looking at human’s rights violation, including religious freedom, as relations between the two countries continue. This is important as human rights was not involved in the lifting of the sanctions on Sudan. We pray that this will help relieve the persecution that Christians in Sudan are suffering.
2017-11-19 Sudan (News24) A top US official on Friday called on Sudan to stop demolitions of “mosques and churches” as alleged by campaign groups, insisting that Washington will push for human rights and religious freedom in the country.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan also said that how Khartoum promotes freedom of expression and other human rights will be “critical” in deciding the future of relations between the two countries.
“The government of Sudan, including the federal states, should also immediately suspend demolition of places of worships, including mosques and churches,” Sullivan said in a speech at Al-Koran Al-Karim University in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum on the western banks of the Nile.
Activists accuse Khartoum of restricting freedom of religion, freedom of expression and political space for opposition groups.
“Ever since the significantly Christian South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011, the Sudanese government has focused greater attention on reducing the number of churches and their activities in Sudan,” John Prendergast of the Washington-based campaign group Enough Project wrote days before Washington lifted its decades old trade embargo on October 12.
After years of strained diplomatic relations, ties between Washington and Khartoum improved under the presidency of Barack Obama, later resulting in the lifting of US sanctions against Sudan by President Donald Trump, his successor.
Rights groups now insist that promoting human rights including religious freedom should be part of Washington’s policy towards Sudan.
…
