Sudan issues clarification on new aid groups

June 14, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government today issued a formal statement on reports regarding registration of new aid groups with names similar to those expelled last March.
Initially the UN humanitarian chief John Holmes was quoted as saying that four of the expelled US based groups would return to Sudan under different names or different logos.
Later the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Holmes statements were misinterpreted and that these NGO’s “should not be characterized as returning NGOs”.
The groups include CARE, Save The Children, and Mercy Corps.
Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen said that the move to register the new aid groups was part of an agreement with the US special envoy Scott Gration.
Al-Deen quoted portions of the agreement with Gration which stated that Khartoum would allow new NGO’s and would transfer blocked assets donated by USAID to them or existing organizations.
Furthermore, the local employees who worked for the expelled groups would be used by the new NGO’s.
The new groups would be registered in compliance with Sudanese laws, the statement said and “distance it from politicization”.
Sudan expelled more than a dozen foreign accusing it of passing “fabricated” information to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued arrest warrant issued for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.
Al-Deen statement said that the agreement with the US would endorse Khartoum’s request of “Sudanisation” of humanitarian work. Moreover, the discussions did not include all the ejected relief groups.
The Sudanese official said that the UN took no part in the agreement and “has no authority on registration of organizations in Sudan”.
“The statements of UN officials on registration of organizations in Sudan carries no clout and does not oblige the Sudanese government in any way” he said.
Back in April, visiting US officials have announced that Sudan has agreed to allow new aid groups to replace the expelled ones but no details were given.
It is believed that the move will be met by a similar gesture on Washington’s side in terms of gradually normalizing ties and partially lifting sanctions.
(ST)