Khartoum – Representatives of the African Parliament visiting Darfur announced the formation of an African parliamentary committee to negotiate with the US Congress the economic sanctions imposed on Sudan and its negative effects on the country.
Four members of the African Parliament said, during a visit to North Darfur on Saturday, they would discuss with members of the US Congress “sanctions and economic siege imposed on Sudan” and the consequences of these measures, according to the Sudanese Press Services Center.
The African Parliament represents all parliaments of African Union member states and is the highest legislative authority on the continent.
Representative of Tunisia’s Parliament, Munkhar Rahmi, said that the committee would be tasked with presenting members of the US Congress problems facing the people of Sudan.
The African delegation met with North Darfur Governor Abdul Wahid Yusuf on a fact-finding visit to the region to evaluate the situation on the ground and measure the impact of the 20-year old economic embargo imposed on Sudan.
Rahmi noted that the visit was also a means to assess the plight faced by refugees and displaced persons and to review the status of the disarmament and development programs.
For his part, the head of the delegation, Annour Victor stressed that US sanctions on Sudan have hampered the peace process by impeding efforts for an economic recovery in the African country.
“We have closely monitored the effects of the economic sanctions imposed against Sudan,” he explained, “and the Pan-African Parliament has consistently condemned their implementation and demanded that Washington rescind the measures.”
The delegation is expected to meet in Khartoum with Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, the Assistant President of the Republic; the governor of the Bank of Sudan, Dr. Hazem Abdul-Gadir Ahmed Babiker; and the Ministers of Health, Transport and Education to assess the impact of sanctions on those ministries.