Khartoum remains, with Syria and Iran, one of three states in the world designated as a sponsor of terrorism by the US and the White House has stressed that a broad set of economic and financial sanctions against Sudan remains in place. The outgoing president noted “a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan.”

He also recognized “steps toward the improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, as well as cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism.”

Sudan was labelled a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 and has been subject to a US trade embargo since 1997 over its support for Islamist groups. Over the next two decades, sanctions were routinely extended primarily due to the conflict in Darfur, a vast desert region in western Sudan, where state security services and pro-government militias conducted a brutal, scorched earth counterinsurgency that killed around 300,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million citizens. The announcement will surely draw criticism from human rights groups because of ongoing allegations of rights abuses, notably in Darfur, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's indictment by the International Criminal Court for related atrocities. Although the order praised “a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, and steps toward the improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan,” rights groups called the measure “inexplicable.”

The Sudanese government “has bombed children and schools, starved civilians as a counterinsurgency strategy, gunned down scores of protesters in Khartoum, its capital, and tortured peaceful activists,” Leslie Lefkow, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa division, said in a statement.
President of the United States Barack Obama signs an order to ease sanctions against Sudan, citing the country's efforts to "reduce internal conflict, improve humanitarian access to people requiring aid and curtail terrorism".