Letter to Congress urging a restart of the Sudan Caucus

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Operation Broken Silence is joining 75 organizations and experts in urging key Senators and Representatives to restart the Congressional Sudan Caucus.

What does this mean?

A caucus is a group of lawmakers from both parties who come together around a shared concern or cause. Unlike a formal committee, a caucus doesn’t write legislation; but, it can build momentum for legislation and push for coordinated action where it’s most needed.

Today, Sudan is home to the world’s largest human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, brought on by two years of extreme warfare between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Khartoum’s neighborhoods already lie in ruins and, in Darfur, entire communities have been annihilated by the RSF. Villages are burning and families are fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Famine is rampant and access to healthcare is evaporating.

In the past, the Sudan Caucus played a key role in helping the United States engage effectively in Sudan. In addition to ensuring appropriations for lifesaving humanitarian assistance, the Caucus was instrumental in ending Sudan’s 22-year civil war, which took the lives of over 2 million people, and urged President Bush to appoint a Special Envoy to help secure the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Additionally, the Sudan Caucus consistently and urgently sounded the alarm for the people of Darfur as genocide swept through the region and additional violence into the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile. The Caucus supported the imposition of sanctions and other penalties, including arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court, against the Bashir regime and its proxy, the Janjaweed, rebranded today as the Rapid Support Forces.

It’s not an overstatement to say that U.S. engagement has been most effective when the Sudan Caucus is active. A renewed Caucus can once again influence American support in the region to help save lives, halt the sale of weapons, and increase the opportunity for peace and development. Since this letter was delivered in early April, Congressional offices have already begun to step up:

• Meeks, Jacobs, Cherfilus-McCormick, Jackson, Jayapal, Olszewski Statement on Two Years of Brutal War in Sudan

• Letter to Secretary Rubio from Senators Warner, Kain, Booker, Young and Rounds for a Special Envoy

• Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing - East Africa & The Horn: At a Turning Point or Breaking Point?

• Murphy, Van Hollen, Sanders, Kaine, Schatz File Joint Resolutions of Disapproval on $1.6b in Arms Sales to United Arab Emirates

• House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing - A Dire Crisis in Sudan: A Global Call to Action

Get Involved

Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. Our Sudanese partners are overwhelmed with needs as war and hunger spread. By joining our global campaign Miles For Sudan or giving below, you will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.

Can’t participate? Make a donation or set up a small monthly gift instead:

$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 a sexual assault counselor in the Greater El Fasher area of North Darfur.

$50 - Helps bring school supplies 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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• Operation Broken Silence is joining 75 organizations and experts in urging key Senators and Representatives to restart the Congressional Sudan Caucus. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-congress-urging-a-restart-of-the-sudan-caucus

• Today, Sudan is home to the world’s largest human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, brought on by two years of extreme warfare between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-congress-urging-a-restart-of-the-sudan-caucus

• A renewed Sudan Caucus can once again influence and American support in the region to help save lives, halt the sale of weapons, and increase the opportunity for peace and development. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-congress-urging-a-restart-of-the-sudan-caucus