**U.S. Senators Urge UN Security Council to Expand Sanctions on Sudan**
A group of eight U.S. senators, led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), has called on U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz to push for expanded sanctions against Sudan. The lawmakers argue that current measures are insufficient to address the ongoing conflict, which has resulted in the displacement of over 14 million people and widespread severe hunger.
In a letter sent Friday, the senators proposed that the UN Security Council target the economic resources fueling the warring factions. The group specifically advocated for an international prohibition on the export and transfer of precursor chemicals—namely mercury and sodium cyanide—used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). According to the letter, ASGM accounts for 80% to 90% of Sudan’s gold production, and the sale of gold serves as a primary source of foreign currency for the belligerents.
The senators also called for the development of due diligence guidelines regarding the procurement of gum arabic. They allege that warring parties, particularly the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have engaged in looting and extortion to control trade routes and smuggle the resource through neighboring countries, including Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, to finance their operations.
Furthermore, the letter urges the UN Security Council’s Sudan Panel of Experts to adopt a more aggressive reporting regime. The senators requested that the panel explicitly identify and publicly name countries that circumvent international arms embargoes or provide financial support to the warring factions.
“A straight renewal of the UN Security Council Resolution on Sudan that maintains the status quo will not bring an end to the unimaginable violence,” the senators wrote. They argued that by targeting the supply chains of natural resources, the international community could increase the financial burden of the war on the involved parties.
The letter was signed by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Article source: allafrica.com | Image credit: UN News – the United Nations
