The ABCs of Sustainable Development Goals and Sudan’s situation XI

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

By Dr. Hassan Humeida

Kiel, Germany: Sustainable Development Goal 10 seeks to reduce inequalities in societies around the world. Such an aim is embodied in spreading opportunities and ensuring their equality among peoples through legislation and policies that guarantee the improvement of the living conditions of all people, especially in work, wages and living, in a sustainable manner.

The urgent need to achieve this goal follows the increasing inequalities in the various societies across the world, as only 1% of the world’s population owns half of the global wealth available to these societies. This wealth is supposed to be enjoyed by all society members, by sharing it equally, for the sake of a better and sustainable life.

Among the goals of the tenth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals until 2030:

First: Achieving and ensuring income growth and adjusting the average per capita income in all countries, especially the developing world and poor countries.

Second: Empowering and promoting social, economic and political integration, regardless of age, gender, disability, ethnic affiliation, origin, religion, economic status or other factors.

Third: Ensuring fair and just opportunities in all societies and striving to spread them by abolishing unjust laws, policies, and practices that lead to discrimination and segregation among people.

Fourth: Enacting and adopting appropriate laws, legislation and policies, especially those related to finances, that lead to achieving equality in work and wages, and enhancing the protection of individuals in their societies.

Fifth: Establishing international and local foundations that are consistent and measurable. The aim is to improve and regulate financial institutions and markets, and follow up on them in carrying out their work for the sake of justice in the marketing of products and their financial returns.

Sixth: Ensuring the participation of developing countries, especially the poor ones, in decision-making and giving them the opportunity to make their voice heard in the initial stages, in order to achieve global balance, socially, politically, economically and justice.

Seventh: Facilitating and organizing means of movement and migration between countries in a thoughtful and responsible manner, with the assistance of the authorities concerned with migration and movement opportunities between countries, with appropriate consideration for the security of the host countries and the safety of their people.

Eighth: Providing special treatments for developing and poor countries, supporting their economic and social growth, based on combating ignorance, hunger, disease, bribery and nepotism, and reducing environmental destruction and the theft of the wealth and internal resources of these countries, while working to end internal problems, civil wars and wars with neighboring countries.

Ninth: Encouraging humanitarian aid based on sustainability in poor developing countries, countries without coasts or ports, and remote or small islands with limited wealth and resources. This can be done by monitoring the humanitarian support provided and carefully following up on how it is employed and its effectiveness in terms of the benefit that can accrue to the citizens in a specific, measurable period of time.

Tenth: Facilitating financial transfers by migrants to their countries of origin, and reducing the costs of financial transfer transactions, in order to help their families and spend some of their savings as individual support for sustainability in their home countries.

Regarding Sudan’s position on this goal: First, it must be recognized that there is inequality in the distribution of opportunities and a failure to achieve justice and equity in them. This failure dates back at least to the last three decades.

Then, the former regime worked to classify people into two categories: a group that agreed with the regime in its principles, and a group that did not agree.

Thus, the rights to opportunities were divided into two parts: A section loyal to the regime that enjoys all the state’s available capabilities, and a non-loyal section that is completely deprived of such possibilities.

This classification began immediately after the regime ascended to the top of the pyramid of power, and then a huge number of workers, employees, and competent specialists were transferred overnight to the public service.

This is without considering the accomplishments they achieved throughout the time during which they were working in state institutions and specialized fields, during which they gained long and rich experiences.

Among those arbitrarily referred to the public service were technicians, engineers, pilots, doctors, jurists, economists, teachers, and other workers in fields that represent the pillars of society that enable it to grow, develop, and advance.

We find here that the individuals who were referred to the public service were harmed by losing their jobs and businesses. We also note the severe harm that befell the families of those referred to the public service due to them being stripped of their jobs from which they used to earn the costs and expenses of daily life for themselves and their families.

Accordingly, their impoverishment occurred overnight, and without early warning or consideration of the decision issued by the head of state.

This has forced most of them to forcibly migrate, leaving their families behind, or remaining in Sudan where they were also forced to practice marginal professions that do not meet today’s requirements for their families and the education of their sons and daughters.

These marginal professions miserably fail to meet the requirements for treating sick members of their families, for example.

It is a sad situation because even though these people devoted long and arduous years full of toil and perseverance for the sake of Sudan and for the needs of their fellow citizens.

The political regime afterwards sought to fill the vacuum created by the transfer of qualified personnel to marginal jobs.

It offered employment to those who have good ties with the pro-regime; however, they were incompetent and their only strength lies in fanaticism, extremism, and the non-acceptance and rejection of the others.

Even the opportunities that came from abroad, be they neighboring or friendly countries, to study, specialize, and exchange experiences in various fields, were deliberately politicized. They were accorded only to those who were fully loyal to the prevailing regime.

The same approach applied to lucrative commercial activities through import and export opportunities. These opportunities were exclusive and, unfortunately, confined for more than 30 years to a narrow scope – The people of the ruling regime, especially the ministers and their families and close relatives who enjoyed a special status. Licenses for this sector were given only to those who are close or loyal to the regime.

This paved the way for illicit wealth, with the ruling regime ignoring to ask the beneficiaries how and where they made their fortune.

In a short period of time, a worker or an employee who cannot normally make a good income, becomes the owner of individual properties whose legal acquisition cannot be justified or legally explained.

At that time, the status of the people of the former regime, who were running the state institutions, went up after robbed Sudan and its citizens of their rightful properties and established companies and commercial institutions.

They unlawfully confiscated agricultural and residential lands from their owners. They registered the properties under their names and swelled their wealth; however, their ownership of such properties within a short period of times is well beyond belief.

Looting expanded, and those loyal to the regime had large bank accounts in countries that specialize in thievery and in transferring and receiving illegal Sudanese money looted from the country’s wealth and resources, and used by specific individuals in these countries.

Inequality spread among people during this era, and was symbolized by the expansion of structures over vast areas and by building high towers. We cannot say that they are skyscrapers that clash with the clouds, as they are towers that clash with human rights, equality in rights and social justice in Sudan.

Corruption in state institutions has been going on for many years in a legalized and systematic manner, thus revealing the face of loyalty to the regime and its people under a false religious mask. All of this was represented not only in the spread of corruption, but also in its expansion and competition among the people of the regime.

This made corruption’s distinctive smell grow more reeking of foulness every day, and, as it spread, impacting hardworking and productive people.

All of this was happening within state institutions, and with the full knowledge of the ruling authorities at that time.

All these elements, grouped together, are not a figment of the imagination, but rather bitter facts that people in Sudan had to endure under duress.

The fields for the seeds of discord were prepared; They were watered every day by the misery and torment of the citizens until the glorious revolution came and removed them.

Regarding inequality and social justice in Sudan, we can affirm that it is an artificial phenomenon by the ruling regimes, especially the regime that has ruled for the longest periods of time.

Inequality in Sudan is not limited to a specific ethnic or racial group. Rather, it is a phenomenon from which all citizens of Sudan, regardless of their tribes, regions, races, ethnicities, and religions, suffer.

Therefore, the first reference to ensuring the achievement of social equality in Sudan and the distribution of fair opportunities is to review the failures that paved the way for the current suffering for which all Sudanese citizens at home and abroad are now paying the price.

What is required is establishing the foundations of lasting peace and coexistence in Sudan on the principles of unity, democracy and social justice.

This should be based on the equal distribution of opportunities within the Sudanese society, regardless of political, religious, ethnic, tribal allegiance and other aspects of classification.

Classifications do not reduce inequalities between members of society, nor increase the hope that society will become peaceful, safe and sustainable.