Sudan–United Kingdom relations
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Sudan–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and United Kingdom. Sudan has an embassy in London whilst the United Kingdom has an embassy in
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
. Most of the recent relations between the two countries centre on the region of
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
.


History

Britain fought a war with
Mahdist Sudan The Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah (later Muhammad al-Mahdi) against the Khedivate of Egypt, which had ...
in the
Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...
from 1881 until November 1899. Between 1899 and the country's independence in 1956, Sudan (then known as "
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...
") was an Anglo-Egyptian
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
. Although New Year's Day 1956 marked Sudan's independence, the British actually transferred power in 1954. Sudan set out almost immediately to broaden its relations with Arab and African states and then the Soviet Union, China, Eastern Europe, and Yugoslavia. Britain continued to provide considerable assistance, including military aid. As the civil war in the South grew in intensity, Sudan routinely blamed “evil colonial policies” as one of the causes. Relations with Britain decreased in importance as those with the Middle East and Africa increased. Sudan broke relations with Britain in 1965 over Britain's handling of the unilateral declaration of independence by Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Khartoum restored ties a year later but then severed them again in 1967 because of the Six-Day War between Israel and neighboring states. Relations resumed again a year later. Sudan alleged that Britain was linked to a failed coup attempt in 1976. By the late 1970s, the United States had replaced Britain as the predominant Western influence in Khartoum, a situation that continued until the overthrow of the Sadiq al-Mahdi government in 1989. Britain remained important for historical reasons and retained strong trade links. Together with the United States and Norway, Britain strongly supported the IGAD peace process that resulted in an end to conflict between Khartoum and the SPLM/A. British prime minister Tony Blair visited Khartoum in October 2004 but took a more critical position on Sudan's policy in Darfur as the crisis dragged on. Of all EU members, the British position on Darfur was the closest to that of the United States. Following the outbreak of
War in Darfur The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups beg ...
in 2003, in June 2004, British international development secretary,
Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999. He served in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2010, under both Tony Bla ...
, ruled out international military intervention for Darfur. However, by the next month, it was reported that
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
was asking officials to draw up plans for possible military intervention in Sudan. In January 2006, Prime Minister Blair told the
British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
that the international community was failing the people of Darfur in Sudan and that it was vital that the underfunded
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
peacekeeping force in Darfur be brought to full strength. In September 2006, Prime Minister Blair said he would propose an incentive package for Sudan as part of a new initiative to end the crisis in Darfur and get
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
peacekeeping troops on the ground. In supporting the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
resolution in 2007 to authorize the deployment of up to 26,000 peacekeepers to try to stop the violence in Darfur, British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
in a speech before the
General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
, urged strong support for peacekeeping in Darfur, calling the war "the greatest humanitarian disaster the world faces today". He also called for an end to aerial bombing of civilians, and for greater effort to support peace talks and reconstruction and said:
But we must be clear that if any party blocks progress and the killings continue, I and others will redouble our efforts to impose further sanctions. The message for Darfur is that it is a time for change.
In 2007, Sudanese President
Omar Hassan al-Bashir ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
accused Gordon Brown of deliberately undermining the Darfur peace talks and demanded a public apology after the prime minister's threat of new sanctions. Brown had said "Of course if parties do not come to the ceasefire there's a possibility we will impose further sanctions on the government." Following the decision by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
(ICC) to issue an arrest warrant to the Sudanese President, Gordon Brown and
British Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
David Miliband David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of P ...
urged the Sudanese Government to co-operate with the ICC.


British Government aid

Britain is the second largest single country donor to Sudan contributing £175m of aid since 2003 In 2004, the British government committed 2 planes to help with the aid effort in Darfur.BBC NEWS , UK , Britain steps up Darfur supplies
/ref> In 2004, Britain confirmed that its aid package had been nearly doubled to £34.5 million, compared to
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
commitment of £7.8 million. In 2006, the British government committed US$76 million to aid efforts in Darfur to help the world's largest aid operation.


Non-government aid

British aid organisations
British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
,
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
and
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
were active in Darfur.
/ref> In May 2004, Oxfam announced it was increasing its staff in Darfur as it was gravely concerned about the humanitarian crisis. Around the same time, the Sudanese Government made it easier for aid workers to obtain visas to work in Sudan. In 2007, Oxfam's operating budget for Sudan's western region was US$12 million.


Expulsion of aid staff in 2009

In March 2009, Sudan expelled several major foreign aid agency, aid agencies including Oxfam and Save the Children from Darfur in response to the extradition request of Omar al-Bashir to answer ICC charges. President al-Bashir accused foreign aid workers of being "spies" and "thieves". Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's international director, said of the ban "It will affect more than 600,000 Sudanese people whom we provide with vital humanitarian and development aid, including clean water and sanitation on a daily basis." Gordon Brown said in response "The humanitarian agencies that are working in Sudan should be allowed to stay there and continue their work." In April 2009, Oxfam and other aid agencies appealed their ban saying that "The expulsion is already affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of the very poorest and most vulnerable Sudanese people". Oxfam have denied working for the ICC saying that "We don't have an agreement with the ICC, we are a humanitarian organisation and we are impartial," and "We don't have anything to do with the ICC and we don't have a position on its decision."Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Arab leaders snub al-Bashir warrant
/ref>


Diplomatic missions

The Embassy of Sudan, London is located on Cleveland Row, close to
St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...
.


See also

*
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Kingdom are conducted by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, headed by the Foreign Secretary. The prime minister and numerous other agencies play a role in setting policy, and many ...
*
Foreign relations of Sudan The foreign relations of Sudan are generally in line with the Muslim Arab world, but are also based on Sudan's economic ties with the People's Republic of China and Russia. Bilateral relations Africa Americas Asia Europe African regio ...
*
International response to the War in Darfur While there is a consensus in the international community that ethnic groups have been targeted in Darfur and that crimes against humanity have therefore occurred, there has been debate in some quarters about whether genocide has taken place the ...


References


External links


British embassy in Khartoum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudan - United Kingdom relations Bilateral relations of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
Relations of colonizer and former colony