When We Speak They Listen And Take Actions
The United States Announced Atrocities Determination In Sudan, What Next?
On December 6th, 2023, The United States Government released its new determination regarding the current situation in Sudan. In his statement, the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that during the Sudan wars members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. It was also worth mentioning that two days earlier, on December 4th, the US Department of Treasury announced sanctions against three officials of the former Omar al-Bashir regime: Mohamed Atta Elmoula Abbas, Taha Osman Ahmed al-Hussein, and Salah Abdallah Mohamed Salah; in addition, they have been sanctioned for their engagements in activities that undermine peace, security, and stability of Sudan.
Darfur Women Action Group appreciates the efforts and commitment made by the US government and the Biden administration to address the dire situation in Sudan. However, this determination is only the very first step that we need for the final solution to be realized. Despite its vital importance, determination alone will not resolve the situation. It’s imperative that the US government and international community put their strength together to take serious steps toward effectively addressing the current situation with collective actions, particularly in Darfur where millions are dying in silence. The current situation in Sudan is the worst crisis that the world has witnessed in our lifetime and it cannot be resolved from within. The situation urgently calls for an international intervention to protect civilians and save lives by enabling humanitarian actors to operate.
It’s worth noting that, since the war between the SAF and the RSF broke out on April 15th this year, the situation in Sudan has become increasingly dangerous and continues to exacerbate day by day. Since the very beginning of the conflict, civilians have become targets of both sides. Ordinary citizens were constantly under attacks and threats of air strikes and bombardments from both sides. The warring parties were also not reserved to achieve their strategic goals by cutting off basic survival means in the cities, such as water, communication, electricity, food and medical supplies, which constitute war crimes punishable under international laws. Many more people were forced to flee their homes, with some becoming Internally Displaced People(IDP) facing isolation and unimaginable suffering while others becoming refugees living under deplorable conditions in the neighboring countries.
Situation in Darfur has particularly grown much worse as RSF is taking control over the region using mass killings as a war strategy. Daily, we are witnessing the rising and expanding of another wave of genocide and ethnic cleansing by the RSF and its allied militias under the silence of the international community. Indigenous African populations are deliberately targeted and mass murdered by the RSF. The Masalit people, for example, have been hunted down and left for dead in the streets, their homes set on fire, and told that there is no place in Sudan for them. Since early November, RSF militia have almost seized full control of the whole Darfur (except for the city of El Fasher in the north); the indigenous people of the region are burdened with a much more gloomy and devastating future while the world is turning its back on them.
Women are the most affected and hurt by the current conflict. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence(SGBV) is rampant and has characterized most of the RSF attacks across the country. Women have been reported targeted during attacks, while they are fleeing and even when they are staying home. It has been proven that rape, sex slavery and other forms of sexual violence are being used as weapon of war. The RSF and allied militias have terrorized women and girls through sexual violence, attacking them in their homes, kidnapping them from the streets, or targeting those trying to flee to safety across the border. Particularly in Darfur, women and girls are deliberately hunted and impregnated by RSF fighters, as they for long time has integrated the SGBV into their genocidal policy against the indigenous populations with an attempt to change the demography of the non-Arab population in Darfur.
Therefore, we at DWAG are calling on the US government and international community that they must not ignore the genocide in Sudan that is perpetrated against the people of Darfur right now. It is mandatory that innocent civilians must not be targeted and slaughtered because of who they are. We believe that the genocide that started 20 years ago has been allowed to continue because the world chose to ignore it. Today again, the people of Sudan are left alone to fend for themselves and to die in despair and silence. We implore the US and the international community to take the following steps to end the suffering and hold criminals responsible:
- Urge the US and international community to lead a robust intervention to protect civilians, and to stop the genocide in Darfur.
- Open an unhindered humanitarian access to all in need across Sudan and with more emphasis on Darfur, in particular, to reach all those in need.
- Pursue accountability for those most responsible for past and current genocide crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur and across the Sudan.
- Impose targeted sanctions on individuals, such as freezing assets, imposing travel bans and sanctioning all businesses associated with the two warring generals in Sudan, and to cut the funding for weapons.
- Hold the regional enablers of the genocide in Darfur accountable, including regional and international actors supplying funds and weaponry to the RSF.
- Provide support for women and civil society from historically marginalized Sudanese to have capacity and voice at all levels of decision-making processes regarding solutions to the current crises.
In the face of genocide we must not let our leaders look the other way. We must speak up and hold them accountable to their obligation. Therefore we call on our friends and allies around the world to echo our voices and keep in mind that Sudan Needs You, and Darfur Needs You more than ever before! Please join us and lend us your hands and voices for the justice and peace of the Sudanese people. The crisis in Sudan and the catastrophe in Darfur are of global magnitude which requires global responses, but if we can speak in one voice and demand our government and the UN to work for an end, we can end this genocide and hold perpetrators accountable.
With our collective effort we can make a difference!
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