Reported by Foreign Policy magazine , quoting government officials and US congressional staff, the administration of President Donald Trump reached an agreement in principle with the new transitional government in Sudan requires the settlement of a number of old claims to the families of the victims of "terrorist" operations Americans.
Those sources said that the agreement would pave the way for removing Sudan from the American list of states sponsoring "terrorism."
According to the magazine, the agreement - which has not yet been finalized - stipulates that the new Sudanese government will deposit $ 335 million in an escrow account for the families of victims of "terrorist" attacks in which the defunct Sudanese regime had a hand two decades ago.
The agreement relates to the bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, as well as the attack on the USS Cole while it was refueling in the port of Aden in southern Yemen in 2000, killing 17 sailors and wounding at least About 40 people.
Is there potential for new claims?
Foreign Policy says the agreement does not address the claims of the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York.
If the agreement is completed, it will help Sudan restore its position in the international community, and allow it to attract foreign investments and aid to support its ailing economy. It also paves the way for further normalization of relations with the United States, which is considered a political victory for Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, whose "fragile" transitional government faces mounting pressure since the popular 2019 revolution that toppled former President Omar al-Bashir.
In the report prepared by two of its journalists, the magazine referred to the talks held by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - during his visit to Khartoum on Tuesday - with Hamdok, during which they discussed democratic transformation and efforts to remove Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring "terrorism."
Softly squeeze
The report quoted a number of American officials as saying that the Trump administration has been quietly pressing Sudan to normalize its relationship with the State of Israel, but Hamdok's office announced in a statement Tuesday that his transitional government does not have the authority to make a decision in this regard.
Those officials believe that normalization with Israel would help expedite the elimination of "terrorism" from Sudan, given the close relationship the Trump administration enjoys with Israel.
However, officials in Washington warn that there are still other major obstacles preventing the completion of the agreement, including that the settlement proposal and the directive to lift the "terrorism" characteristic of Sudan must be approved by Pompeo and then President Trump before referring it to Congress for review.
Sovereign immunity
Members of Congress must formally approve the removal of Sudan's name from the list of states sponsoring "terrorism" and enact legislation to restore Sudan's sovereign immunity before US courts. Sovereign immunity is one of the most important principles of general international law, which does not allow the subjugation of a state without its will to the jurisdiction of another state.
There is a sticking point - according to the magazine - is how the Sudanese government will compensate American citizens and foreign nationals. That is because a number of non-American victims have acquired US citizenship during the past two decades, which raises questions about whether they should be compensated based on their current or previous nationalities.
The aforementioned agreement - according to government officials and Congressional employees - requires Sudan to pay up to $ 10 million to each US government official killed in the bombing of the two embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and $ 800,000 to non-Americans who were working in the embassies and were killed in them.
As for the wounded, the Americans will receive an amount ranging between 3 and 10 million dollars, while the foreigners' share may reach 400 thousand dollars in compensation.
Criticism of the determination of the shares
However, this distribution has already drawn criticism from some families of non-US victims who argue that the United States should not assign a value to victims based on their places of origin.
The families of other victims - including Americans and Tanzanians - asked Congress to support the agreement with Sudan, because in the event that it failed to pass it, it wasted a real opportunity to establish justice that might lose it forever in the event of a possible collapse of the deal between Sudan and the United States.
The magazine reiterates that removing the term "terrorism" from Sudan will allow it to strengthen its diplomatic and economic relations with the rest of the world, and will open the way for attracting private investments and benefiting from the aid programs provided by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other institutions.
It remains unclear how Sudan will be able to finance the settlement stipulated by the agreement in light of the severe financial hardship it is currently experiencing.
In Khartoum, rumors spread that wealthy Gulf states would support Sudan, or Khartoum might resort to selling its gold reserves to collect the money needed to pay compensation. However, officials familiar with the ongoing negotiations say either option is unlikely, Foreign Policy magazine said.