Washington D.C. — Late on Wednesday, the United States of America's Senate passed a draft resolution "to condemn the military coup in Sudan and support the Sudanese people," and the House of Commons also unanimously passed the non-binding resolution with a quick vote without any objections.

On March 23, the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved a draft resolution condemning the military coup in Sudan and calling on the US administration to impose sanctions on those responsible for the coup.

The draft resolution came two days after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the paramilitary Central Reserve Forces (popularly called Abu Teira) that stand under the command of the police, in accordance with the Global Magnitsky Act* on serious violations of human rights.

The Treasury listed the excessively violent repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests by the security forces as the main reason.

The draft that was passed on Wednesday affirms support for the aspirations of the Sudanese people for democratic civilian rule and calls for the lifting the state of emergency in the country, the release of all political detainees, the restoration of the constitutional status in the country, and the hand-over of power to civilians.

Earlier this week, a diverse phalanx of 108 international and Sudanese organisations and human rights defenders signed an open letter to the White House in Washington, urging the US administration to impose targeted sanctions on Chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan and deputy Chairman Mohamed Dagalo 'Hemeti' for their involvement in serious human rights abuses following the military coup d'état they led on October 25 last year.

*The Global Magnitsky Act of 2016 authorises the US government to sanction foreign government officials worldwide who are deemed to be human rights offenders. Sanctions can include freezing their assets and banning them from entering the USA.