Download the PDF version of this letter here.
Dear Prime Minister Hamdok,
We write to express our appreciation for your efforts to realize the demands of the December Revolution for freedom, peace and justice, to call attention to the urgent need for progress on the ground, and to register our concerns regarding ongoing violence and insecurity in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Act for Sudan is an alliance of long-time American activists and Sudanese in the Diaspora, whose relationships and knowledge of events on the ground directly inform our advocacy efforts. We have strong working relationships with members of the U.S. Congress. We have engaged successive U.S. Administrations to influence U.S. policy on Sudan to take a comprehensive approach to Sudan, to address the root causes of violence and marginalization, and to prioritize protection, justice and peace.
With great admiration for the courage and perseverance of the Sudanese people, we celebrated the removal of Bashir from power, the establishment of the transitional government, including your appointment as Prime Minister, and the plans for a future civilian-led government. We are encouraged by the repeal of some oppressive Sudanese laws and the ratification of certain international human rights laws, such as the conventions against torture and enforced disappearances. We sincerely appreciate the cooperation you have begun with the International Criminal Court. We have witnessed the excitement of Sudanese who have experienced greater freedoms, especially greater religious freedom. As advocates for unimpeded international humanitarian aid, we are grateful that aid is now reaching some vulnerable populations, even as much more access and aid is required. We recognize the important steps taken to build peace with the signing of the Juba Peace Agreements and the Declaration of Principles with the SPLM-N (al-Hilu). We hope the lifting of U.S. sanctions and the removal of Sudan from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List will support your efforts to improve the economic condition of the country and the people of Sudan, not just the elites. We appreciate these and other steps of progress and are painfully aware of the many significant and ongoing challenges the government and people of Sudan face.
We are deeply concerned about the ongoing violence, killings and displacement experienced by civilians in Darfur. This violence and insecurity in Darfur is particularly concerning because of the history, policies and crimes of the former regime, crimes the U.S. determined to be genocide.
We welcome your government’s recent recognition of emergency conditions in Darfur and the initial steps toward deploying joint Sudanese peace keeping forces. In the past, the people of Darfur have been the target of military forces and associated militias, and so the composition, training and accountability of the joint forces is paramount. We urge deployment of legitimate forces to protect civilians and their property, and for the government of Sudan to seek assistance from the “Friends of Sudan” countries to help equip, train and monitor the forces deployed in Darfur to ease the fears of civilians and to ensure genuine protection.
We also urge the government of Sudan to prioritize and accelerate the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement to address the root causes of conflict and to foster a stable peace throughout Sudan. The government of Sudan must deliver significant, tangible, and timely improvements on the ground, for the people of Sudan, to ensure that the revolution succeeds.
Respectfully,
Act for Sudan
cc:
President Joe Biden
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN
Donald Booth, U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan
Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa
Samantha Power, Administrator, USAID
Senator Bob Menendez, Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Senator Jim Risch, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Representative Greg Meeks, Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Representative Michael McCaul, Ranking Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Senator Chris Van Hollen, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights
Senator Michael Rounds, Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights
Representative Karen Bass, Chair, House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights
Representative Chris Smith, Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights; Co-Chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Representative Jim McGovern, Co-Chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme
Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
Heiko Maas, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany
Dominic Raab, First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary, United Kingdom
Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ethiopia
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia
Sameh Hassan Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Egypt
Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi, President, of Democratic Republic of Congo; Chair, African Union
António Guterres, Secretary General, United Nations
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