Assembly/AU/Decl.2(XXVI) Page 1 DECLARATION ON THE LIFTING OF THE LONG-STANDING UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’S UNILATERAL SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON THE SUDAN Doc. EX.CL/945(XXVIII)Add.5 WE, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting at our Twenty Six Ordinary Session, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: GUIDED by the Constitutive Act of the African Union adopted in 2000 at Lomé Summit (Togo) which provides that one of the objectives of the African Union shall be to achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa ; CONSIDERING the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; AFFIRMING the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution No. A/HRC/27/L.2 on Human Rights and Unilateral Coercive Measures adopted on 18 September 2014 , which created special procedures to assess the impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights; URGING the Commission to develop modalities for the follow up mechanism for the implementation of the decision of the Assembly to call on the United States of America (USA) to lift the long-standing unilateral sanctions on The Sudan; BEARING IN MIND the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Republic of Sudan by the United States of America since 1997, which has, inter alia, crippled the economy of the country, increased the inflation rates, restricted the imports and exports, hindered the country’s strategy to achieve socio-economic development, interrupted the on-going plans to cope with Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and affected the country’s obligation towards its commitments to the African Union Agenda 2063; RECOGNIZING that the unilateral coercive measures resulted in freezing and confiscation of private and governmental transfers and assets respectively, deprived the people of the Sudan of the use of open sources in the internet, economically discouraged foreign direct investments, lowered the per capita income and increased the percentage of population poverty; CONCERNED by the harmful effect of the bank transfer embargo, which has forced the people dealing with Sudan to carry money in cash outside the banking system making it difficult for the authorities to fight money laundering thus encouraging cross boarder crimes. This has affected all socioeconomic aspects, especially in the health sector resulting into the increase in maternal and infant mortality due to the restrictions created on importing medical serums and equipment normally; STRESSING that unilateral coercive measures and legislation are discouraged under international law, international humanitarian law, the UN Charter, Constitutive Act of the African Union and the norms and principles governing peaceful resolutions among states;