It has been three weeks since violence erupted in Sudan. Hundreds of people have been killed. Hundreds of thousands more have been forced to flee, and many remain trapped by fighting without access to food, water, or electricity.
The United States bears a special responsibility for the events transpiring in Sudan. It was a major player in establishing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that marked the end of 20 years of civil conflict and established South Sudan. Despite this, the response from Congress and the administration has been muted. The international community has focused on securing a ceasefire (which has so far failed to hold) and evacuating its citizens.
Into that vacuum, young Sudanese peacebuilders are stepping up. They are pushing back on misinformation, providing aid, and playing a leading role in the nonviolent moment for peace and democracy in their country. But they can’t do it alone.
“Sudanese youth are displaying acts of heroism every single day. The international community must do everything they can to support us now.”
“Sudanese youth are displaying acts of heroism every single day,” Sudanese advocate Mayada Adil told the U.N. Economic and Social Council’s annual Youth Forum last week. “The international community must do everything they can to support us now.”
It will take sustained pressure to get lawmakers to respond to this call, and that’s the gap that groups like FCNL can fill. This week we joined partners in urging Congress to act swiftly in response to the growing crisis in Sudan. We coordinated a briefing for congressional staff, which more than 50 people attended.
Our coalition of advocacy and civil-society organizations collectively pushed for the appointment of a special envoy to Sudan. The chair and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee later echoed this request. We called on Congress to urgently schedule hearings on the unfolding situation, and the Senate responded.
Direct, sustained, high-level leadership from the United States and United Nations is needed to stop the violence in Sudan from engulfing the nation. We must do our part by keeping the pressure on lawmakers to take bold steps to respond to this crisis and to invest in critical peacebuilding programs that work to prevent violence, transform conflicts, and heal fractured communities after conflicts end.
