US Targets Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sudan Over Democracy, Security, Human Rights

In his statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the expanded visa restrictions on Uganda targets those "who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Uganda or for policies or actions aimed at repressing members of marginalized or vulnerable populations"

Blinken said the marginalized or vulnerable populations included "environmental activists, human rights defenders, journalists, LGBTQI+ persons and civil society organizations," and others.

The statement noted that immediate family members of targeted Ugandan officials may also be subject to visa restrictions.

The State Department first issued visa restrictions following the 2021 Ugandan elections, which the U.S. said was flawed and called on the government to improve its record and "hold accountable those responsible for flawed electoral process, violence and intimidation."

Blinken said the U.S. remained committed to working with Uganda to advance "democracy, human rights, public health and mutual prosperity."

"I once again strongly encourage the Government of Uganda to make concerted efforts to uphold democracy and to respect and protect human rights so that we may sustain the decades-long partnership between our countries that has benefited Americans and Ugandans alike," he said.

Zimbabwe visa restriction policy

Blinken also announced a new visa restriction policy for those he said were undermining democracy in Zimbabwe.

In a statement, he said the new visa restriction policy targets specific individuals and was not directed at the Zimbabwean people.

Blinken said the targeted individuals are "believed to be responsible for, or complicit in," acts that include the manipulation or rigging of the recent August 2023 electoral process."

The individuals, he said, are also believed to be responsible for "disenfranchising voters or preventing individuals from exercising their right to vote, including "excluding members of the political opposition from electoral processes" and restricting civil society organizations, CSOs, from operating and engaging in "democratic, governance, or human rights related activities."

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term in a disputed vote in August, which the opposition described as a "gigantic fraud" amid criticism from election observers, who say the election failed to meet regional and international standards.

"The United States supports Zimbabweans’ aspirations to have free and fair elections that reflect the will of the people and strengthen democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights," Blinken said.

U.S. Treasury sanctions former Sudan government actors

Meanwhile, on Monday the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on "Sudanese actors for undermining peace, security and stability."

The department mentioned Taha Osman Ahmed al-Hussein, as a Sudanese national and a former state minister and presidential office director to former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, for supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, to "advance the RSF’s warfighting efforts."

"Taha is being designated for being a foreign person who is responsible for, or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan," the Treasury statement said.

The RSF and the Sudanese army have been engaged in an ongoing seven-month-long conflict in Sudan that has killed at least 6,000 people and displaced over 5 million.

Others sanctioned include Salah Abdallah Mohamed Salah (Salah Gosh), a former high-ranking Sudanese government official who left his position following the fall of the Bashir regime, and Mohamed Etta Elmoula Abbas (Elmoula), a former Sudanese ambassador and leader of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service under the Bashir regime.

Under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson said the Treasury is continuing its "efforts to identify and take action against individuals contributing to the instability in Sudan and undermining prospects for a peaceful resolution."

"The United States will not tolerate the continuing exploitation of the Sudanese people by those who seek to extend and deepen the conflict," Nelson said.

This report was complied by Ignatius Annor. Some information came from Reuters.