Miles For Sudan - 4 ways to join

The global event for runners, walkers, and cyclists helping to save and change lives in Sudan continues in 2025. These are the best ways to join.

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Our brave Sudanese partners are overwhelmed as war and famine continue spreading. We’re doing everything we can to help, but it’s nowhere near enough to meet the massive needs they face. 2025 needs to a big year of action for them. Here are four ways you can bring Miles For Sudan to your community.

Sign yourself up

Select your workout type, or to fundraise only, and how much you want to raise! Then all you have to do is share your fundraising page online at the end of each workout.

If you’ve never fundraised before, we have a suite of easy-to-use tools and resources to get you started. There are also milestone rewards:

• All participants who raise $250+ get a suite of virtual cooking and cocktail demos

• U.S. participants who raise $500+ get a free shirt

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Become a team captain

One of the best ways to multiply your impact is to start a Miles For Sudan team and ask friends and family to register underneath it.

Each member gets their own fundraising page just like you do, and the funds you raise will build up collectively on your team page. Simply select Create a team during the sign up process to get started!

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Partner with us

Want to get your school, business, place of worship, or online community involved? After you get permission, select the Create a team option when registering and name it after the place you are a part of. Your people can then register under your team or donate directly to our Sudanese partners through your page!

You can also host an in-person event such as a 5K run and more as part of Miles For Sudan! Please connect with our team if you want to pursue this option.

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Become a sponsor

Finally, you can show your public support for Sudanese heroes by completing our sponsor form and making a lump sum donation. You’ll also get various forms of promotion depending on the sponsorship level you choose.

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These are dark times in Sudan, but that’s all the more reason to make this a year of action. A long road and a lot of work lies ahead. Together, we can help Sudanese heroes continue saving and changing lives for the better. I hope you will join me in making Miles of Sudan a part of your story this year.

Onward,

Mark C. Hackett

Executive Director

obsilence.org

Understanding the U.S. State Department’s genocide determination in Sudan

In another grim turn of events, the U.S. State Department has declared that certain atrocities in Sudan meet the threshold of the crime of genocide. We break down what this means, dispel common misconceptions, and examine what happens next.

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On January 7, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement saying that, based on available information, “members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan.”

A quick recap for those who are new to this situation. Sudan is the world’s largest human rights and humanitarian catastrophes. Since April 2023, a war for power between the army and a powerful militia called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has unleashed a wave of violence so extreme that some regions of the country are becoming uninhabitable. Mass atrocities, gross human rights violations, and manmade famine have forcibly displaced more than 15 million people.

Khartoum is mostly destroyed, as are countless towns and villages the war has blasted through. Famine is spreading and over half the country is in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The death toll is unknown. Some estimates earlier this year were already surging past 150,000 Sudanese killed.

It has been clear from the outset that this war is much more than a power struggle between the army and RSF. It is also a war on the Sudanese people. Both sides have committed large-scale war crimes, with the RSF targeting entire minority ethnic groups for annihilation. Discerning why is critical to understanding the State Department’s genocide determination.

The Rapid Support Forces, briefly explained

The RSF emerged from the 2000s Darfur genocide. The then Bashir regime had long oppressed minority ethnic African tribes in this western region and by the early 2000s was facing an armed uprising. Sudan’s army was failing to put down the rebellion, so the regime began to recruit large numbers of militiamen from Darfur’s Arab tribes. These militias were called janjaweed, which loosely means devil on horseback. The janjaweed proved to be a ruthless killing machine against African tribes such as the Zaghawa, Fur, and Masalit.

In 2013, the regime rebranded the janjaweed as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and began outfitting the paramilitaries with better equipment. Horses were traded in for modified SUVs with mounted machine guns. AK47s were supplemented with artillery, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns, and drones. The RSF has grown in size, strength, and wealth ever since, both with direct support from Khartoum and by using stolen land and expanding territorial reach to mine gold and more.

Map by Operation Broken Silence

A large portion of the RSF adheres to an extremely racist, Arab-supremacist ideology. The belief system holds that Darfur’s historic ethnic African minorities must be cleansed from the region and all other Sudanese Arabs are inferior. As a result and as the RSF has spread into other parts of Sudan during this war, they have executed captured army soldiers and civilians while raping and pillaging countless communities they deem ethnically inferior or disloyal.

For months, traumatized refugees streaming out of Sudan —especially from the Darfur provinces— have shared stories of RSF fighters systematically murdering men, boys, and male infants belonging to ethnic African minorities. The paramilitaries have deliberately raped and assaulted women and girls from these same ethnic groups on a shocking scale, as well as blocked humanitarian aid to those unable to flee. One particularly brutal example took place from April to June of 2023, when RSF fighters slaughtered ethnically African Masalit civilians in El Geneina and the surrounding areas in West Darfur. As the United Nations noted roughly a year ago:

“RSF and allied militia deliberately targeted civilian neighbourhoods, IDP gathering sites, and IDP camps, schools, mosques, and hospitals, while looting homes, INGOs and UN compounds. Furthermore, they deliberately rendered useless water pumps that were vital for the survival of the community. RSF and allied militia deliberately targeted Masalit community…”

Understanding genocide for what it is

The term genocide is often misunderstood and misused. Being a globally recognized phenomenon that can be prosecuted in international and domestic courts, genocide must be understand as a legal term that requires a very high threshold of evidence.

Genocide is an internationally-recognized crime where acts are committed with the intent to destroy —in whole or in part— a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. These acts fall into five categories:

1. Killing members of the group

2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

The phrase with the intent to destroy means it is not enough to point to mass killing as proof of genocide. Determinations from reputable institutions —such as the State Department— are rare for this reason: there must be hard evidence of the perpetrators’ intent to destroy, in whole or in part, one of the listed types of groups through at least one of the above actions.

Hard evidence could include signed military orders, kill lists being distributed, or documentation of armed mobilization. Specific language by the perpetrators directing troops to ethnically “cleanse” an area, hate speech by those carrying out the killings, or destroying infrastructure that makes life possible can play a role in proving intent as well. These examples are not exhaustive. Most perpetrators try to hide and cover up their intent and crimes, making investigations more difficult. As such, proving genocidal intent can be very difficult.

Left: RSF fighters battle army and anti-RSF forces in North Darfur. Right: Residents of the Abu Zirga area of North Darfur prepare to bury more than 50 of their friends and relatives following a horrific massacre perpetrated by the RSF in mid-December.

This is what makes the State Department’s genocide determination in Sudan a serious development. There are no signs this designation was made lightly. It strongly suggests that the U.S. government has hard evidence of both RSF intent and acts of genocide committed. There has been a lot of smoke for months suggesting a genocide. Now Secretary of State Blinken is more or less saying they’ve found the fire:

“The RSF and RSF-aligned militias have continued to direct attacks against civilians.  The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys—even infants—on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence.  Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies.  Based on this information, I have now concluded that members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan.”

What happens now?

There tends to be a misguided belief in the general public that using the word genocide will immediately trigger rapid policy changes and a massive global response. History suggests this is rarely the case anywhere in the world, especially in Sudan. The international community has struggled to beef up its response these past 20 months and there’s no evidence the State Department’s genocide determination will change that. A lack of accountability for war criminals in the past is a major driver of RSF crimes today. This determination lays real groundwork for world leaders to act more decisively, but they still must choose to do so.

It is unknown what action, if any, the incoming Trump administration will take with regards to Sudan. Continuing the Biden administration’s approach these past several months should be the bare minimum. Efforts are underway to communicate this need; but, ultimately, Trump’s foreign policy officials will have to decide to make the plight of the Sudanese people a priority day in and day out. Time will tell if they have the political will to do so.

For globally-minded citizens, arguing over what constitutes a genocide or using this determination to draw attention to other international crises should be avoided. Such language runs the high risk of making people feel involved and helpful when, in reality, all that’s being done is removing needed attention from victims and survivors for mere intellectual debate. As one of our Sudanese friends said years ago, “Call it a genocide or not, the militia is still going to kill my family.” And what is happening in Sudan is far too serious to be used as a prop. This moment clarifies the terror the Sudanese people are facing. The focus should remain on them.

As for us, we must continue providing direct support to Sudanese aid workers, healthcare professionals, and teachers and advocating for world leaders to become more engaged in Sudan. Both must be done simultaneously. Please join us to that end.

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Together we are making the story of Sudan known and supporting survivors as they fight to build a renewed Sudan. Our Sudanese partners are overwhelmed with needs as the war spreads and hunger deepens. By joining Miles For Sudan or giving below, you will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.

$1,000 - Fully funds one classroom at Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp for half a semester.

$500 - Delivers food to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled to South Sudan.

$250 - Provides a daily breakfast to 10 children for an entire month in Adré refugee camp, where many Darfuri genocide survivors now live.

$100 - Supports the monthly work of a sexual assault counselor in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, Sudan.

$50 - Helps bring school supplies Yida to students in Yida Refugee Camp.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900. You can also donate stock or crypto.

Operation Broken Silence a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

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• Share Our Posts: Instagram | Facebook | Threads | LinkedIn | Reddit

• In another grim turn of events, the U.S. State Department has declared that certain atrocities in Sudan meet the threshold of the crime of genocide. We break down what this means, dispel common misconceptions, and examine what happens next. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/understanding-the-us-state-departments-genocide-determination-in-sudan

• On January 7, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement saying that, based on available information, members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias “have committed genocide in Sudan.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/understanding-the-us-state-departments-genocide-determination-in-sudan

• Since April 2023, a war for power between Sudan’s national army and a powerful militia called the Rapid Support Forces has unleashed a wave of extreme violence. Now the State Department says genocide has been committed. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/understanding-the-us-state-departments-genocide-determination-in-sudan

Letter to Congress and the Trump Administration regarding ICC sanctions

Photo from Canva Pro

Operation Broken Silence is joining 75 organizations in expressing grave concerns and to unequivocally oppose the use of the sanctions authority of the United States to cripple the International Criminal Court (ICC), an independent judicial institution dedicated to combating impunity for the gravest crimes known to humanity.

What does this mean?

Recent reports suggest the new Congress will include sanctions against the ICC in its first legislative action, the House Rules Package. The future of that legislation is uncertain, but the incoming Trump Administration has also given indications of sanctions through the threat of Executive Orders.

The ICC performs a critical role by investigating the worst international crimes and those accused of committing them. It does so in a manner that protects the due process rights of the accused, the sovereignty of states —including the United States— and the rights of victims. Supporting the work of the Court is in the interest of the United States, while sanctioning it undermines core aspects of American foreign policy.

Known as the world’s “court of last resort,” the ICC has already been recognized as playing a positive role in previous bipartisan support for investigations into war crimes allegedly perpetrated by Russian officials in Ukraine, attempts to bring justice for victims of human rights violations in Myanmar, and as a pathway to accountability for perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan.

Sudan is currently home to the world’s largest human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. Since April 2023, extreme violence between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has all but destroyed the country. Mass atrocities, gross human rights violations, and manmade famine have forcibly displaced more than 15 million people. There is mounting evidence that the RSF has committed crimes that meet the high legal threshold of genocide. Over half the country is in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, with a handful of areas having descended into full-blown famine months ago.

The United Nations Security Council referred the situation in Darfur, Sudan to the ICC in March 2005. The Court exercises jurisdiction over such crimes committed in western Sudan since July 1, 2002. As we have previously noted, the ICC’s investigations in Sudan not only remain ongoing, but stands to benefit from closer cooperation with the U.S. government. The State Department’s recent genocide determination suggests the U.S. government has hard evidence of atrocity crimes that could greatly assist the Court.

U.S. sanctions tools designed to penalize gross violators of human rights should not be used to contribute to their continued impunity. Sanctions send a signal that could embolden authoritarian regimes and others with reason to fear accountability who seek to evade justice. It is essential that the United States answer any allegation of wrongdoing in a manner that does not betray the cause of global justice, abandon international cooperation, or compromise support for human dignity and rights.

Get Involved

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Together we are making the story of Sudan known and supporting survivors as they build a renewed Sudan from the ground up. And we need your help.

Our Sudanese partners are overwhelmed with needs as the war spreads and hunger deepens. Your generosity will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

Operation Broken Silence a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

Shareables

Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• Share Our Posts: Instagram | Facebook | Threads | LinkedIn | Reddit

• Operation Broken Silence is joining 75 organizations in expressing grave concerns and to unequivocally oppose the use of the sanctions authority of the United States to cripple the International Criminal Court (ICC). https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-congress-and-the-trump-administration-regarding-icc-sanctions

• Reports suggest the new Congress will include sanctions against the ICC in its first legislative action. The incoming Trump Administration has also given indications of sanctions through the threat of Executive Orders. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-congress-and-the-trump-administration-regarding-icc-sanctions

• U.S. sanctions tools designed to penalize gross violators of human rights should not be used to contribute to their continued impunity. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-congress-and-the-trump-administration-regarding-icc-sanctions

Sudan Crisis - What You Need To Know

This guide is for those trying to learn more about the emergency in Sudan. We regularly update this page with relevant information. The last update was January 3, 2025.

The best way to stay updated about Sudan is to sign up for our free email list. You can also discover ways to help at the end of this guide.

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Background

Sudan is a beautiful country in northeast Africa, just south of Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea. Sitting at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, Sudan is one of the more culturally and ethnically diverse countries in the world. Over 50 million people live here and it is the third largest country in Africa by area.

A brutal war broke out in Sudan in April 2023 between the national army and a renegade paramilitary force:

• The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) - the country’s official military that includes the army, air force, and navy.

• The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - a regional paramilitary group created by a previous military regime.

A variety of intelligence units, police forces, and local militias have taken sides in the conflict as well. Some of Sudan’s rebel groups from previous wars have too, while others are trying to remain neutral and are defending their own territory and people groups. Additionally, the RSF hires mercenaries from across the Sahel to bolster its presence.

Gunfire between the two sides erupted in Khartoum on April 15, 2023. Both sides failed to decapitate each others’ leadership and extreme warfare quickly spread across the country.

Why are SAF and RSF fighting?

SAF and RSF used to be allies, but that changed after they overthrew a civilian reform government in October 2021. RSF commander Mohamed Dagalo (aka Hemeti) sees himself as Sudan’s rightful dictator, while SAF generals believe they are the true government. It’s important to understand that the vast majority of Sudanese want a democratic civilian government —not the SAF or RSF— to be in charge. There are also significant ethnic dimensions in this war that should not be ignored:

• SAF - Top army brass are mostly Nile Valley Arabs, representing the most elite and privileged ethnic groups in the country. Unlike the RSF, the army is fairly diverse with soldiers from most parts of the country. Arab racism toward African tribes exists in SAF, which explains why army units have executed civilians on an ethnic basis as well.

• RSF- Top RSF commanders and most of their fighters hail from Arab tribes in the western Darfur region. The bulk of the RSF adheres to an extremely racist, Arab-supremacist ideology. The belief system states that Darfur’s historic African tribal groups must be cleansed from the region and that all other Sudanese Arabs are inferior.

Sudan is home to the largest and most dangerous humanitarian emergency, far outpacing every other crisis in the world.

Extreme violence has gutted the capital city of Khartoum. Countless towns and villages are being destroyed. Many farmers cannot work. The economy has disintegrated and prices of basic goods are skyrocketing. Most schools are closed.

This is just as much a war on the Sudanese people as it is a conflict between the army and RSF. The RSF is targeting ethnic African minorities for extermination and SAF is blocking aid access to large swaths of the country. War crimes are being committed by both sides. The results are horrifying:

• No one knows the true death toll, but a moderate estimate based on available data suggests more than 135,000 civilians have already perished from violence and hunger.

• Nearly 25 million Sudanese —half of the entire country— are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. 8.7 million Sudanese have descended into near-famine or famine conditions.

• Roughly 15 million people have been forced to flee their homes or have left Sudan as refugees. That’s nearly one in three of all Sudanese.

• Over 75% of Sudan’s healthcare system has collapsed and preventable disease outbreaks are becoming common.

• 19 million children no longer have a classroom to attend and roughly 90% of schools are closed. This is the largest childhood education crisis in the world.

Map by Operation Broken Silence

The state of the war right now

Today, SAF and its allies control the north and east of the country and parts of central and southern Sudan, while also maintaining a foothold in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher. The RSF controls almost all of western Sudan and parts of central and southern Sudan, including Khartoum proper.

SAF and their allies have launched multiple counteroffensives the past several weeks, reclaiming minimal territory amidst heavy fighting in the Greater Khartoum area, Gezira state, and North Darfur.

Pins on this map mark the areas experiencing the heaviest fighting right now. Areas highlighted in red are some of the most historically oppressed regions of Sudan, as well as areas where famine and emergency hunger have reached some of the highest levels.

It appears neither SAF nor the RSF can achieve a decisive victory anytime soon, and it is the Sudanese people who are bearing the heaviest burdens.

Why isn’t Sudan in the news?

The crisis deserves the intense coverage that Israel/Gaza and Ukraine have received, especially considering the scale of human suffering in Sudan eclipses both of those conflicts…combined. Sudan rarely gets coverage for multiple reasons:

1. The army and RSF have destroyed or cut cell networks and internet access in parts of the country, making it harder for ordinary Sudanese to get news out into the world.

2. The global diplomatic, humanitarian, and peacekeeping presence in Sudan has declined precipitously in previous years. There are few international eyes and ears on the ground who have the ability to get information out into the world at scale.

3. Western news agencies —American ones especially— have largely looked away following embassy evacuations from Khartoum in the early days of the war. Other international crises are treated as being more important for complex reasons, including how they affect U.S. politics, what drives clicks and revenue, the social media zeitgeist, and a general lack of interest in Africa.

There has been some solid reporting in western media outlets, but never in a sustained way that keeps people informed and helps them become engaged. You can help raise awareness and funds for Sudanese heroes by joining our global event Miles For Sudan.

What are world leaders doing to stop the war?

Most world leaders have chosen to ignore the catastrophe unfolding in Sudan. The few diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed. International aid efforts were only 63% funded for all of 2024, meaning acute hunger is even being felt in the refugee camps outside of Sudan —where it is much easier to get aid in— simply because there is not enough attention.

The United States has launched the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group to coordinate global action and secure a ceasefire and full humanitarian access. The initiative has provided a small boost to humanitarian funding and opened very limited aid access, but nowhere near enough to match the scale of the emergency. Meanwhile, some countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Russia are making the crisis worse by funneling weapons and resources to either SAF or the RSF.

Domestically, a coalition of Sudanese civilian groups led by former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok —who was overthrown in the 2021 coup— has emerged to serve as a credible alternative to SAF and RSF. Ordinary Sudanese across the country are trying to help their neighbors survive every day by running public kitchens for the hungry. The international community could and should be doing much more to support the Sudanese people directly, including throwing its full weight behind Sudanese citizen initiatives to pull their country back from the brink of failed statehood.

December 2024 Generosity

Our supporters gave $26,777 to Sudanese heroes, including aid workers, teachers, and healthcare professionals. This money is being used right now to save and change lives.

MEET OUR PARTNERS ➡

What can I do to help?

Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes on the ground. Here are just a few ways your generosity can help these brave people save and change lives in the days ahead.

$1,000 - Fully funds one classroom at Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp for half a semester.

$500 - Delivers food to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled to South Sudan.

$250 - Provides a daily breakfast to 10 children for an entire month in Adré refugee camp, where many Darfuri genocide survivors now live.

$100 - Supports the monthly work of a sexual assault counselor in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, Sudan.

$50 - Helps bring school supplies Yida to students in Yida Refugee Camp.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Our EIN is 80-0671198. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

If you would like your gift to go to a specific partner, please drop us a message letting us know which one after donating.

Shareables

Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• Share Our Posts: Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit

• How is this not the biggest story in the world right now‽ https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-2024-what-you-need-to-know

• It’s not in the news, but the world’s largest humanitarian emergency is unfolding in Sudan. I found this informative guide to be really helpful in understanding the situation: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-2024-what-you-need-to-know

• Sudan is home to the largest and most dangerous humanitarian emergency, far outpacing every other crisis in the world. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-2024-what-you-need-to-know

• Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes on the ground. Will you join us? https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-2024-what-you-need-to-know

Reflecting on 2024 and looking ahead

Friends and supporters,

There is much to consider as another year comes to a close; but, first, I want to express my gratitude and pass along a warm thank you from our Sudanese partners. Thank you for standing with us through another difficult year. Here are just a few highlights:

Childhood Education in Yida Refugee Camp. Attendance at the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools in Yida Refugee Camp climbed to 838 students by year’s end. 68 primary students and 72 secondary students recently took their national exams, with results expected in late January. Another 200 Nuba students from other schools in Yida received testing prep support from our schools as well.

Healthcare and food relief in Adré refugee camps. Many survivors of war crimes in Darfur have fled into the border town of Adré in eastern Chad. With the help of a small, but growing group of generous donors, you helped fund local Darfuri healthcare workers who are running a daily children’s feeding program that provides breakfast to over 600 children and a medical clinic serving over 150 of the most vulnerable people every day.

Miles For Sudan. 58 of you have already signed up for our global campaign that helps runners, walkers, and cyclists support Sudanese heroes who are saving and changing lives. And we couldn’t have launched Miles For Sudan without a talented group of people here in Memphis either, many of whom volunteered their time and resources to make it happen!

American advocacy. We signed a number of organizational and expert letters and advocated for better U.S. policy toward Sudan. This included, but is not limited to: a letter to the Justice Department regarding the U.S. government supporting the International Criminal Court’s investigation in Sudan, a letter to President Joe Biden urging his administration to take action on the unfolding genocide emergency in El Fasher, and a letter to the presumptive 72nd Secretary of State Marco Rubio to make Sudan a priority in the next administration. We also provided requested guidance to small groups of new grassroots activists for their meetings with Congressional offices, as well as advocated in our own private communication with Congressional staffers. American policy improved throughout the year, in part because of efforts like these.

This is just a snapshot of what you helped us accomplish in 2024. Thank you; none of this would have been possible without your engagement!

The challenges we faced

While there is much to celebrate, 2024 was still a very difficult year. The war and famine imposed a number of security and resource challenges for all of our Sudanese partners. Even in areas not impacted directly by violence, prices on everything from school supplies to food to medicines have skyrocketed. Sudan’s war economy is surging across borders as needs soar. Many of the Sudanese heroes we support saw more suffering this year than ever before. It’s a heavy burden not being able to help every time they see a need.

The fundraising hurdles we’ve faced since 2020 continued easing slowly throughout the year. Overblown fears of a major economic recession in the United States again failed to come to fruition as inflation receded, leading to a trickle of new supporters. Sadly, many journalists remained disproportionately focused on the Israel/Gaza crisis to the detriment of the Sudanese people, which played a key role in preventing many potential donors from finding Sudan-related causes.

Similar to our Sudanese partners, we faced these challenges head on as best we could. Our delivering news and basic analysis helped bring new faces into our movement, including more supporters who live outside of the United States than ever before. Membership in The Renewal monthly giving family grew slightly, as did the number of supporters who started a fundraising page for the first time.

Looking ahead to 2025

Sudan ends the year on the brink of becoming a failed state. Armed conflict is intensifying as the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) target civilians, the former out of paranoia at the mere perception of disloyalty and the latter along ethnic lines. Famine is far from over. And it’s unclear what action, if any, the incoming Trump administration will take with regard to the crisis in Sudan. Making specific predictions about what lies ahead seems unwise, but here is what you can expect from us in 2025:

1. A new mission statement. Much has changed in Sudan and how we go about our work since this was last updated in 2017. Our new mission statement will better indicate who we are and what we do, while better reflecting our small size as a nonprofit.

2. More news and analysis. 2024 once again showed us that when people become aware of the tragedy unfolding in Sudan, they respond with tangible action. New supporters who showed up on our doorstep throughout the year remarked that they found us because we are providing more and better information on Sudan than major media outlets. We will continue bringing you the latest developments to keep you informed and so you can help others get involved.

3. Emphasizing what is good and effective. We’ll remain laser-focused on bringing more funding to bear for our Sudanese partners, as well as highlighting the best ways you can be a part of that. I encourage you to sign up for our email list if you haven’t already. This is the best way to make sure you are always in the loop.

Make Your Last Gift of 2024

While this year has brought unprecedented suffering, we've also witnessed the incredible resilience and compassion of the Sudanese heroes we partner with. We invite you to make one last gift in 2024 to Sudanese teachers, aid workers, and healthcare professionals.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

If you aren’t in a position to give, we encourage you to join Miles For Sudan.

Operation Broken Silence a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

Thank you again for standing with our friends in Sudan this year. A long road and a lot of work lies ahead; but, together, we can help Sudanese heroes continue to change lives for the better. We all wish you a joyous and healthy New Year.

Onward,

Mark C. Hackett

Executive Director

obsilence.org

Biden administration makes final Sudan push

U.S. policy concerning Sudan intensified throughout 2024. Now it may end with a bang.

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American diplomats seem determined to make the most of the Biden administration’s twilight days on the world stage, including considering plans to declare that specific atrocities in Sudan meet the high legal threshold of the crime of genocide, issuing a wave of new sanctions, and more.

A quick recap for those who are new to the situation in Sudan. For 20 long months, Sudan’s national army and a genocidal militia called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have torn Sudan to shreds in a brutal war for control of the country. Now the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises for roughly a year, the plight of the Sudanese people is still largely being ignored by many world leaders and journalists. Khartoum is mostly destroyed, as are countless towns and villages the war has blasted through, or that the RSF has massacred. Multiple areas of Sudan descended into famine months ago. The death toll is unknown, but some estimates earlier this year were already surging past 150,000 Sudanese killed.

The United States has mobilized more countries and international institutions throughout 2024 in a concerted effort to end the war and pry open humanitarian access, making some limited progress concerning the latter these past few months especially. Still, nearly half of all humanitarian aid provided to the Sudanese people this year came from the United States.

With the Biden administration in its final weeks, senior U.S. officials are now racing to lock in whatever progress they can. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the United Nations Security Council on December 19, where he said:

“So to the foreign sponsors sending drones, missiles, mercenaries – enough. To those profiting off the illicit oil and gold trade that fund this conflict – enough. Use your resources to ease Sudanese suffering, not deepen it. Use your influence to end the war, not perpetuate it. Don’t just claim to be concerned about Sudan’s future, prove it.”

When asked in a recent interview what the American focus will be the next few weeks, U.S. Special Envoy Tom Perriello added:

“Well, one of the things that Secretary Blinken made clear today at the United Nations is that we're going to use every second we've got, and we've got some momentum. We're in the fifth straight month of breaking the largest humanitarian embargo in the world, but we have so much more to do. We've seen four times more food and medicine moving into Sudan than we saw just a few months ago, and each one of those is food and medicine reaching a mother or a child that's been malnourished for months in places like Zamzam camp or Kadugli in South Kordofan. We're getting the convoys moving, including the first convoy into parts of southern Khartoum since the war began almost two years ago. So, we have got to lock in those humanitarian gains that are saving lives. But ultimately, we've got to move towards a ceasefire, even a temporary ceasefire, from the parties, to give some relief to the horrific conditions that millions of Sudanese people are facing.”

The Biden administration also seems to be considering taking more serious steps. Speaking to Politico, four current and former American officials said the administration is “weighing plans to declare the atrocities in Sudan as a genocide and issue a raft of new sanctions” on the RSF. This includes sanctions on lead RSF general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo —aka “Hemeti”— and other RSF enterprises that are propping the militia up. The Biden team is also being pressured from the outside to appoint a senior USAID official to oversee the international aid effort to Sudan heading in to the Trump administration.

While a genocide declaration would be a major step, it’s unclear exactly how this would change the status quo in the short term. There is often a misguided belief in the general public that using the word genocide immediately triggers rapid policy changes and a massive global response. History suggests this is rarely the case. Still, if the State Department has significant evidence that RSF crimes reach the legal threshold of genocide —and evidence does seem to exist— then that determination should be announced now and additional efforts should be made to further document crimes being committed for future prosecutions. A lack of accountability in the past is a major driver of the current war. This cycle needs to be broken.

It is unknown what action, if any, the incoming Trump administration will take with regard to the crisis in Sudan. Continuing the Biden team’s approach these past several months should be the bare minimum and efforts are underway to communicate that; but, ultimately, Trump’s foreign policy officials will have to decide to make the plight of the Sudanese people a priority day in and day out. Time will tell if they have the political will to do so. Until then, we must continue doing everything we can to help local heroes on the ground save lives.

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Make Your Last Gift of 2024

This year in Sudan has been both challenging and inspiring. While the war has brought unprecedented suffering, we've also witnessed the incredible resilience and compassion of the Sudanese heroes we partner with.

As 2024 comes to a close, we invite you to make one last gift to Sudanese teachers, aid workers, and healthcare professionals. Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Operation Broken Silence a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

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• American diplomats seem determined to make the most of the Biden administration’s twilight days on the world stage, including weighing plans to declare that specific atrocities in Sudan meet the high legal threshold of the crime of genocide: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/biden-administration-makes-final-sudan-push

• It is unknown what action, if any, the incoming Trump administration will take with regard to the crisis in Sudan. Continuing the Biden team’s approach these past several months should be the bare minimum. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/biden-administration-makes-final-sudan-push

• Throughout 2024, the United States mobilized more countries and international institutions in a concerted effort to end the war and pry open humanitarian access to hard-hit areas, making some limited progress concerning the latter these past few months. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/biden-administration-makes-final-sudan-push