Session
Organizer 1: Sara Bala, Hopes & Actions Foundation
Organizer 2: Dennis Mbaabu, Hopes & Actions Foundation
Organizer 3: Mukhtar Atif, Hopes & Actions Foundation
Organizer 4: Ebaa Emad, Hopes & Actions Foundation
Organizer 5: Mohammed Wala, Bank of Khartoum
Organizer 6: Said Sidra , Hopes & Actions Foundation
Speaker 1: Mohammed Wala, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group
Speaker 2: Said Sidra , Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 3: Mukhtar Atif, Civil Society, African Group
Dennis Mbaabu, Civil Society, African Group
Sara Bala, Civil Society, African Group
Dennis Mbaabu, Civil Society, African Group
Round Table - U-shape - 90 Min
What is the impact of U.S technology sanctions on SDGs targets?
What is the impact of U.S sanctions on civil and political rights activists in Sudan?
Connection with previous Messages:
1.4
2.a
5.b
8.2
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Targets: Due to the comprehensive U.S sanctions imposed on Sudan for three decades, the country has relatively small and fragile academic communities and low rates of investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This has an impact on children's to access quality education, as well as accessibility to educational materials in the rural areas, as well as led to poverty in a whole. In Sudan, the female literacy rate is 56.1%, while the male literacy rate is 65.4%, however, this factor clearly plays a role in women's ability to use the internet, access information, and have safe experiences online.
Sanctions have also emphasized poverty in Sudan, which has led to many social and economical complications. A couple of researches have proven that regimes under sanction magnify the negative impact of these sanctions on citizens with the aim of preventing the population from revolting. Although the sanctions impact the elite, due to their strong economic starting position, funds hidden around the world, and international collaborators, it is the local population who feel the impact the most.
In addition, U.S sanctions also encouraged the absence of innovative digital platforms in Sudan, as well as its participation with global innovation platforms. This has led the global innovation platforms to be not relative to the Sudan context, as well as discouraged the development of the digital economy. Accessibility to public services is not possible in rural areas affecting many citizens to enjoy their civil rights, and this has created a social divide. For example, the number of early married girls is not traceable due to the fact that they are not registered on the civil registry.
Currently, most government institutions, banks, civil society organizations, universities, and the commerce sector are struggling to access updated software, which also led these institutions to be continuously at risk of cyber attacks. Nevertheless, these comprehensive sanctions have empowered the government surveillance of political rights activists, during the ongoing revolution. Being restricted to update software has left political rights activists and women rights activists under potential surveillance by the advanced tools used by the National Security Forces in Sudan.
Description:
U.S technology sanctions are playing a big role in the digital divide in Sudan, nevertheless, affecting the targets of SDGs to be achieved in Sudan.
These Sanctions have an impact on the SDG targets below:
1-4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology, and financial services, including microfinance.
2-a Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development, and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular, least developed countries.
5-b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.
8-2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading, and innovation, including through a focus on high-value-added and labor-intensive sectors.
9-b Support domestic technology development, research, and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
The session results will focus on creating an advocates list who are able to participate in a campaign that will encourage the U.S to lift the technology sanctions in Sudan.
Hybrid Format: Provide connectivity testing tools to the hybrid participants and sought feedback from willing participants
to ensure sufficient internet bandwidth access throughout the entire event.
Provide user guides and materials for users to make reference to when navigating and participating in the sessions.
Setup a support desk enabled with telephone, and online chat tools. Should any of the users encounter a problem,
they can be assisted by the support desk.
introduce the use of online interactive and electronic voting tools. The use of online tools such as pigeonhole can
enable online users to actively post questions, make suggestions, vote in real-time, and actively engage online users with
onsite users. Feedback from speakers will also be inbuilt into the tools, to enable online users to receive instant feedback
to their questions. Online bulletin boards will also be incorporated into each session presentation.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.