Twitter users have been using #SudanUnderSanction to voice frustration over the daily impact of sanctions.
Currently ruled by President Omar al Bashir – wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity – Sudan has been riven by conflict since independence from the UK and Egypt in 1956.
For decades Sudan has been under sanctions imposed by America and the United Nations Security Council.
Bill Clinton imposed a trade embargo and froze government assets in 1997, and the country remains officially designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.
But it's not just the decades of violence that many blame for the country’s suffering. The international sanctions themselves have had a daily impact on the lives of Sudanese citizens, as shown by the recent hashtag #SudanUnderSanction.
Curated by @Sudan_Voices, twitter users expressed the daily effect sanctions have on everyday people.
From the economy to Airbnb, personal finance to internet access – tweets showed the very real impact which sanctions have on Sudanese people.
The sanctions are intended to put pressure on the government to end support for violent groups, engage more constructively internationally, and refrain from inflaming tensions with neighbours such as South Sudan.
Observers and locals have said that they do have had an impact on government policy.
Mastoor Ahmed Mohammed from the opposition Sudanese Congress Party last year that, “the sanctions absolutely serve the purpose of pressuring the government into changing some of its policies.”
“If lifted, the government and companies owned by the government [..] will benefit more than any regular citizen,” he said.
Not everyone agrees, however.
A United Nations Special Rapporteur from the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights spent eight days in Sudan last year.
“The reality on the ground has proved that these measures do not have a negative impact on officials or on any elite group,” Idriss Jazairy said. “Their full impact is on innocent citizens and on a deepening of the gap in income distribution within the Sudanese society and between provinces.”
Mr Jazairy said that the country's general health and welfare were held back by sanctions.
“Sudan has become one of the few countries where people still die from diabetes because of the impossibility to access the required drugs,” he said, noting that many women also die during childbirth from managable complications.
Food and water access was also impacted, as it was difficult to import spare parts for trains, pumps and trucks, he said.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur, along with many on the ground, have called for a review of the structure of sanctions on Sudan.
Clear objectives for the government should be set and more exceptions should be made, the Rapporteur said.
Meanwhile, in Sudan, others sought to hijack the #SudanUnderSanction to promote a more positive message.
