A new policy brief published today by the Enough Project urges the European Union to more clearly and consistently assert leadership and develop much-needed financial leverage that could support a truly reinvigorated peace process in South Sudan, a country hijacked by corrupt elites and marred by brutal conflict and urgent humanitarian crises.
In “EuroPressure: EU Financial Leverage for Impact in South Sudan,” authors Brad Brooks-Rubin and Jonathan Benton argue that, to date, the European Union’s principal answers to the South Sudan crisis have been financial aid and humanitarian support, rather than a comprehensive approach with meaningful leverage to drive change. The report lays out short, medium, and long term tools that the European Union can deploy as part of a thoughtful and coordinated strategy to help end the crisis and suffering in South Sudan:
Short term tools:
- Designating for sanctions key spoilers of the peace process and their business networks.
- Issuing warnings or alerts to financial institutions concerning AML risks related to South Sudanese politically exposed persons (PEPs).
- Engaging governments neighboring South Sudan, particularly Kenya and Uganda.
- Meeting with banks active in South Sudan and the region.
Medium and long term tools:
- Imposing sectoral-based restrictive measures on economic sectors that are under the control of certain political and military elites, such as the extractive industries, banking, and transport sectors.
- Further developing its autonomous evaluation process of high-risk third countries.
- Becoming a cooperating member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).
- Convening discussions on governance conditional to disbursing non-emergency aid.
For full details, read the brief here.