George Clooney and John Prendergast: An American Lobbying Firm Is Helping Sudan's Vile Regime

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in TIME and was written by The Sentry's co-founders George Clooney and John Prendergast.

Earlier this summer, K Street law and lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs inked a contract with the Sudanese government aimed at removing U.S. sanctions on that regime. The firm will be paid $40,000 a month by a government that’s on the U.S. state sponsors of terror list, with a head of state, Omar al-Bashir, wanted for genocide by the International Criminal Court.

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The July Deadline Won’t Work: Why the U.S. needs to delay the decision on Sudan sanctions

Note: This policy brief was published by the Enough Project.

As a July decision approaches on whether to permanently remove most sanctions on Sudan, the Trump administration should properly evaluate progress, or lack thereof, on each of the five tracks on which progress is required, and the administration should not privilege any single track over others. Enough’s view is that the evidence available concerning multiple tracks is inconclusive. Combined with the fact that key senior Trump administration officials responsible for Africa policy are not yet in place, this calls for a six-month delay on the decision, during which time the Trump administration should assign the additional staff needed to gather credible information and assess progress on each of the five tracks. While properly assessing progress on the five tracks, the Trump administration should also pivot to pursue a separate new track of engagement focused on advancing peace and human rights in Sudan.

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