African Union Calls for Lifting of U.S. Sanctions on Zimbabwe and SudanThe African Union Bureau (AU) of Heads of States and Governments, in an April 3 teleconference, reiterated its call for the immediate lifting of economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and Sudan to assist them during the coronavirus pandemic. There are some 8,000 COVID-19 cases on the African continent. The bureau is also appealing for international cooperation and support in the fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus on the continent. The Heads of States and Governments noted that of $12.5 million has been pledged by AU member states towards combating the pandemic. The bureau has agreed to establish continental ministerial coordination committees on Health, Finance, and Transport in order to support the comprehensive continental strategy. In early March, the U.S. Trump administration extended by one year sanctions against Zimbabwe saying that the new government's policies continue to pose an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. foreign policy. It said the sanctions will remain until the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa acquiesces to U.S. demands regarding media freedom and protests. According to U.S. officials, there are 141 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe under U.S. sanctions. Also in early March, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lifted sanctions against 157 Sudanese institutions and removed Sudan from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism, after the U.S. and Sudan reached an agreement in February for a settlement with the families of those killed in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. However, some sanctions still remain in place through the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. (SABC, Africanews, Anadolu Agency)
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