Editing Foreign relations of Sudan (section)

== Multilateral relations ==

=== Arab and Islamic organizations ===
Sudan joined the [[Arab League]] at independence in 1956 and used the organization over the years at every possible opportunity to support its policies.<ref name="loc2015" /> Following the outbreak of conflict in Darfur in 2003 and sharp criticism of its policies by Western countries, Sudan relied on strong support from the Arab League.<ref name="loc2015" /> The Arab League opposed [[International sanctions|sanctions]] against Sudan, and several members provided [[humanitarian aid]] to [[Refugees of Sudan|refugees]] fleeing the fighting.<ref name="loc2015" /> By the end of 2004, the Arab League joined the [[Ceasefire|cease-fire]] monitoring committee for Darfur.<ref name="loc2015" /> Al-Bashir served as the Arab League chairman in 2006.<ref name="loc2015" /> Sudan joined the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|Organization of Islamic Cooperation]] (OIC) in 1969.<ref name="loc2015" /> It sought support in the organization for activities such as the reconstruction of war-ravaged [[South Sudan]].<ref name="loc2015" /> Like the Arab League, the OIC supported Khartoum's actions in Darfur.<ref name="loc2015" /> Sudan is also a member of a number of other Arab or Islamic regional organizations, including the [[Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa]], the [[Arab Monetary Fund]], and the [[Islamic Development Bank]].<ref name="loc2015" />

==== United Nations ====
Sudan joined the United Nations in 1956, and its various institutions began almost immediately to assist Sudan.<ref name="loc2015" /> UN refugee assistance during Sudan's first civil war began in the early 1960s.<ref name="loc2015" /> In 1965 one of the South Sudanese exile organizations unsuccessfully demanded the intervention of the United Nations to end atrocities.<ref name="loc2015" /> Sudan experienced frequent criticism in UN bodies throughout the first civil war that ended in 1972.<ref name="loc2015" /> Khartoum showed great skill in using the United Nations in pursuit of its own interests.<ref name="loc2015" /> One example occurred in 1976, when Sudan accused Libya at the United Nations of supporting a failed coup attempt.<ref name="loc2015" />

Because the country was engaged continuously in a civil war in the South until 2005 except for the period 1972–83, Sudan was the subject of many UN resolutions.<ref name="loc2015" /> The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme created Operation Lifeline Sudan in 1989 to deal with the problems created in the South by drought and the civil war.<ref name="loc2015" /> The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a series of reports critical of the human-rights situation in Sudan.<ref name="loc2015" /> The Security Council imposed sanctions on Sudan in May 1996 after Khartoum refused to extradite three Egyptians to Ethiopia for their alleged involvement in the attempted assassination of President Mubarak in Addis Ababa in 1995.<ref name="loc2015" /> The mild sanctions reduced the number and level of Sudanese diplomats stationed abroad.<ref name="loc2015" /> The Security Council, with the United States abstaining, removed these sanctions in August 2001.<ref name="loc2015" /> In 2005, the UN Security Council agreed to a travel ban and asset freeze on persons suspected of committing human-rights abuses in Darfur and in 2006 imposed sanctions against four Sudanese involved in Darfur atrocities.<ref name="loc2015" /> Much to the consternation of the United States, Sudan in 2004 filled an African regional seat on the United Nations Human Rights Commission.<ref name="loc2015" /> A UN commission investigating atrocities in Darfur concluded in 2005 that genocide had not occurred.<ref name="loc2015" /> It did find, however, that Khartoum and government-sponsored militias engaged in "widespread and systematic" abuse that might constitute crimes against humanity.<ref name="loc2015" /> By late 2010, the UN had two of its largest peacekeeping operations—UNMIS and UNAMID—in Sudan.<ref name="loc2015" />