Sudan: Calls for sanctions against Sudan over genocide

April 10, 2015 - Sources indicate that a group of Christians call for sanctions against Sudan over the commission of genocide against Christians and black Africans. According to the Premier Christian Radio, "religious and political figures are calling on the UK government to impose sanctions on Sudan over claims genocide is being carried out against the country's Christians." In an interview with the radio, Baroness Caroline Cox, a Christian and the founder and CEO of international aid agency Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), underlined that the situation in Sudan - Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan in particular - is very severe. She said "[Christians are] being targeted and killed, churches are certainly targeted... It's genocide of Christians and genocide of black African peoples. [Sudanese] elections will be a kind of camouflage for legitimacy for a regime that deserves sanctions, not legitimacy." (Meanwhile the elections have taken place.)

The persecution analyst of World Watch Research explains what this means for Christians: "The call made to impose sanctions as well as not recognizing the results of the electionsin Sudan is very important in an attempt to help Christians survive the persecution being orchestrated by the government of al-Bashir, even though this could lead to retaliatory measures against Christians living in the country. In a situation where the government of Sudan is struggling to cope with the soaring economic crisis following the secession of South Sudan, such a call is crucial as it is made at a time when the countries of the world have a leverage to deal with Khartoum. In this line of thinking, pressure might lead to the government of Sudan changing its behavior against the Christian population."