Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment. 2012 ‘Changing Rules: State-to-State Transfers [US Embargo].’ Reaching for the Gun: Arms Flows and Holdings in South Sudan; Sudan Issue Brief No. 19 (Box 1), p. 2. Geneva: Small Arms Survey. 1 April

Relevant contents

Box 1 - Changing Rules: State-to-State Transfers

As early as 1992, the US banned exports of defence articles to Sudan.[10] In 1997, US President Bill Clinton issued an executive order banning the transfer of lethal military equipment to Sudan—which then also covered South Sudan—citing Khartoum's 'support for international terrorism; ongoing efforts to destabilize neighbouring governments; and the prevalence of human rights violations' and calling Sudan 'an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States' and 'a national emergency.'[11]

In January 2012, President Barack Obama lifted the ban on defence articles and services to South Sudan, stating that this would 'strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace.'[12]

US State Department officials indicated that the government was in discussions with the South Sudanese about assistance for 'securing their borders and defending themselves', but that the US had no immediate plans to approve the transfer of lethal equipment…[13]

[10] US (1992, p. 4974)
[11] US (1997, p. 59989)
[12] White House (2012)
[13] Reuters (2012)

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