Letter to U.S. Department of Justice concerning ICC-Sudan OLC guidance

Photo from Canva Pro.

Operation Broken Silence is joining 16 organizations in asking the U.S. Department of Justice to publicly release any unclassified written guidance that the Office of Legal Counsel has issued regarding the conditions under which the U.S. government can lawfully support the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation of atrocities such as those recently committed in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

This request has been submitted under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.

What does this mean?

Since war consumed Sudan in April 2023, the armed actors in the conflict —specifically the army and Rapid Support Forces— have committed atrocities that the U.S. Secretary of State has determined meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing. Additionally, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed his office is investigating ethnic massacres and other crimes being committed in Darfur.

The ICC is the only permanent global court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. It is the “court of last resort,” meaning it steps in when national courts fail to prosecute such crimes or need assistance in doing so.

American officials have reacted favorably to the ICC investigation in Darfur; however, the United States faces complex internal legal restrictions when it comes to assisting the court. This could hinder or prevent the U.S. government from handing over critical evidence the court may find useful for its investigation and any future prosecutions.

Wait, what’s happening in Sudan?

One of the worst armed conflicts and the largest humanitarian catastrophe in the world.

SEE OUR GUIDE ➡

A 2010 U.S. Department of Justice memorandum seems to suggest the U.S. government can support the Darfur investigation, provided that the support amounts to “assistance to international efforts to bring to justice…foreign nationals accused of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity,” rather than “institutional support” to the ICC. Basically, the U.S. should approach the court on a case-by-case basis.

Analysis stemming from more recent U.S. legislation suggests that legal obstacles may stand in the way though. Former U.S. Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Todd Buchwald has suggested that the U.S. government may not be able to assist the court “in the early stages of the [ICC] Prosecutor’s efforts in a country that would help identify which individuals should be ‘accused’.”

Why this matters

Early is the precise stage at which the court’s investigation of recent crimes in Darfur presumably stands. This is when assistance from the United States may be most helpful in speeding up and strengthening the ICC’s critical work. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s atrocity determination suggests the U.S. government has evidence and information that could greatly assist the court.

It is essential that United States be able to share evidence and provide additional assistance to the ICC’s investigation in Darfur without waiting for formal accusations to emerge against specific individuals, and without then limiting its assistance to the cases against those accused. If legal barriers do exist, then the public should know what they are and be able to propose and pursue solutions to overcome them. Our joint Freedom of Information Act request seeks to make public any relevant guidance or memos to that end.

The clock is ticking. Sudan is now home to the world’s largest and worst humanitarian emergency, with millions of Sudanese under immediate threat of war crimes and famine. The complete impunity enjoyed by army and Rapid Support Forces generals is the primary driver of ghastly crimes and spiraling humanitarian conditions.

While we await a response from the Justice Department, we ask that you join us in taking direct action below.

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Together we are making the story of Sudan known, empowering survivors, and working to 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.

$2,200: Fund an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for one semester.

$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.

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

$250 - Supports a teacher and their classroom for one month.

$150 - Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.

$100 - Give pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.

$50 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

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

Shareables

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

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

• 17 orgs ask the Justice Department to release any unclassified written guidance regarding the conditions under which the U.S. government can lawfully support the International Criminal Court investigation of atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-us-department-of-justice-concerning-icc-sudan-olc-guidance

• American officials have reacted favorably to the ICC investigation in Darfur; however, the United States faces complex internal legal restrictions when it comes to assisting the court. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-us-department-of-justice-concerning-icc-sudan-olc-guidance

• It is essential that United States be able to share evidence and provide assistance to the ICC’s investigation in Darfur without waiting for formal accusations to emerge against specific individuals. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-us-department-of-justice-concerning-icc-sudan-olc-guidance

Mother of Mercy Hospital Update - April 2024

Mother of Mercy Hospital and their twelve community clinics are the backbone of the healthcare system in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. The local staff perform operations, battle cancer and preventable diseases, and bring children into the world every day.

Our supporters began fundraising for the hospital and their string of community clinics in 2016. This is the only referral hospital in the region and is critical to the survival of the Nuba people, and their ability to thrive. The hospital and clinics are staffed by a growing team of indigenous doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers. A small group of internationals serve at the hospital to provide training and support. Together, they serve upwards of 150,000 patients a year.

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Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena.

Mursila’s Story

Several times a year, medical director Dr. Tom Catena shares a story of one of their patients who is leaving a lasting impact on the team:

Imagine having years of pain and inexplicable suffering. Imagine trying to find relief – answers – only to be given medicine that doesn’t work and to have doctors who can’t provide answers. 

This is Mursila’s story. Ten years ago, she noticed a small swollen area in her neck. Neck pain and headaches followed. Mursila sought treatment at a health clinic, but the medical staff did not know what was wrong.  

Time passed, and the swelling grew larger, forming a goiter, which is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. Mursila visited other clinics and was prescribed medication, but nothing helped. Her condition continued to worsen, causing unbearable pain. Now 30 years old, with four children to care for, Mursila was desperate to find an answer. 

After she made her way to Gidel Hospital last November, our surgical team examined Mursila and determined that she would need a thyroidectomy, or removal of her thyroid.  Her operation went smoothly, and Mursila has now made a full recovery. She is overjoyed to be without pain and has regained freedom of movement in her neck. Before returning home to her family, she expressed her gratitude:  

“I want to especially thank Dr. Tom and his team for their amazing work. I pray that God may grant them good health and renewed strength to continue saving lives. To those who support Gidel Hospital, may God bless you for your kind generosity. Thank you!” 

I want to echo Mursila’s thanks to you. I am grateful for your support, which equips us to save lives, bring healing, and build healthcare capacity in the Nuba Mountains and across Africa. We simply could not do this work without you. Your support enables us to treat patients who come to us in critical condition – victims of the war that continues to plague the Nuba Mountains, women with obstructed labor requiring an emergency C-Section, and many other patients with urgent needs.

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How war is impacting life at the hospital

Since the war reached the Nuba Mountains in June 2023, the team has continued their work despite supplies becoming significantly more expensive and harder to come by. Purchasing basic resources from across the frontlines, as was done during the ceasefire years, has become very difficult due to sporadic fighting and worsening security just outside of Nuba borders. Over 70% of Sudan’s healthcare network has collapsed under the weight of fighting and direct attacks, making Mother of Mercy one of the last fully-functioning hospitals in the country.

The threat of famine spreading across Sudan is now being felt in the Nuba region. Local officials estimate that over 900,000 Sudanese have fled into the mountains since the war began, putting significant food strains on the fragile region.

Dr. Ingrid Kelters, who oversees the community clinic program, reports that the number of children admitted for severe malnutrition has surged by 50%. The annual hunger gap —when the previous year’s food from farming runs low— begins roughly in June and will run through at least August, meaning hunger is likely to increase in the short term.

Map: Location of Nuba Mountains. (Operation Broken Silence)

There are; however, signs of hope. On May 4, the national army and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North —the indigenous armed resistance force controlling the area— brokered a tentative deal to open official humanitarian aid access to the Nuba Mountains. A formal agreement is expected any day. It is unclear if aid will be coming cross-border from South Sudan or from Sudan’s east coast through battered frontline areas, or both. Most aid supplies available for Sudan are currently trapped in Port Sudan.

Complicating matters is the fast-approaching rainy season, which begins any day now. Annual rains will hamper the ability to easily move humanitarian aid around as there are no paved roads in the Nuba Mountains and flood waters easily wash out dirt routes. The rainy season is also the time of planting and swarms of locusts are noticeable in farming areas. Humanitarian needs are going to fluctuate in the coming months. If you would like to learn more about how the war is impacting the Nuba region, please do so here.

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A Few Recent Updates

While 2024 has been an impossible year for the Sudanese people, life and work at the hospital and clinics continues to offer a sense of stability for the Nuba people. The high quality and reliable care the hospital staff is able to provide remains unmatched in Sudan, especially now.

The hospital remains incredibly busy as more and more displaced people have flooded into the Nuba region over the past twelve months. As of last month, 61 babies had been delivered safely (16 by c-section) and 228 surgeries performed since the beginning of the year. 4,644 patients received outpatient care and nearly 700 more were admitted to the hospital.

48 physician assistants and midwives are continuing their education at the hospital’s St. Bakhita Health Sciences Training Institute, with new clinical officers now interning in the outpatient department. The students will sit for exams soon and then receive clinical placements at the hospital or one of the community clinics. The Nuba Mountains have long been short on trained healthcare workers and the Institute is critical to resolving this challenge over the long haul. The new school year will start in July.

The hospital continues to expand as well, with additional housing space being built right now to accommodate staff and visitors. Specialized doctors from outside the Nuba region visit the hospital semi-regularly to provide additional services and some limited training, so additional housing space will be incredibly helpful.

Despite the severe difficulties of life in Sudan at the moment, the work of the hospital has continued on more-or-less the same. Supply lines have certainly been disrupted and most everything is more expensive than it was a year ago; but, with your help, lives are still being saved and changed for the better.

Mother of Mercy Hospital and these clinics are critical to pushing back on mounting healthcare needs and spreading malnutrition brought on by the war in Sudan.

Right now, more than 1,500 babies, toddlers, and young children in the Nuba region alone are in danger of severe acute malnutrition. The team desperately needs more “miraculous” food packets —consisting of peanuts, milk powder, vegetable oil, sugar, and nutrients— and milk powder formula to help children recover. The packets come ready to use and need no refrigeration and the milk formula is vital to helping the most vulnerable.

Your generosity can make the difference. Giving options highlighted in bold are the best way to make the largest impact.

$8,700: Covers the cost of training a nurse over the course of 3 years.

$5,000: Provides for an average day of care at the hospital, including 216 outpatient visits, 7 surgeries, 11 admissions to the hospital , and 2 safe delivers

$2,800: Gives a full week’s worth of medicine at the hospital.

$1,000: Pays the monthly salaries for 5 community midwives.

$750: Provides for 10 children in the pediatric ward.

$500: Helps deliver food packets and special milk formula for children with severe acute malnutrition.

$250: Sponsors a life-saving C-section.

$100: Pays almost all of a nurse aid’s monthly salary.

$50: Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence with Hospital written in the memo line and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

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

Shareables

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

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

• While 2024 has been an impossible year, life and work at the hospital continues to offer a sense of stability in the Nuba region. The high quality and reliable care the hospital staff is able to provide remains unmatched in Sudan, especially now. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/mother-of-mercy-hospital-update-may-2024

• “I want to especially thank Dr. Tom and his team for their amazing work. I pray that God may grant them good health and renewed strength to continue saving lives. To those who support Gidel Hospital, may God bless you for your kind generosity. Thank you!” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/mother-of-mercy-hospital-update-may-2024

• Right now, more than 1,500 babies, toddlers, and young children in the Nuba region alone are in danger of severe acute malnutrition. Here’s how you can help. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/mother-of-mercy-hospital-update-may-2024

“War at Home” documentary - one year of crisis in Sudan

“There’s a dark sense of déjà vu here,” says Yousra Elbagir, Africa correspondent for Sky News. “Images I remember seeing from the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s, unfolding again. And the silence is worse than the yells of shock we expect.”

Sudan has been trapped in a doom loop of silence since a brutal civil war began one year ago. Western media especially has looked away following embassy evacuations from Khartoum in the early weeks of the conflict. Most eyes today are locked on Gaza/Israel and Ukraine. Few people have noticed that the catastrophe unfolding in Sudan now eclipses both of these conflicts, combined.

A minimal amount of important and moving reporting can break through the silence from time to time. This recent documentary by Yousra Elbagir with Sky News reflects on the conflict, which has hit close to home for her.

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How To Help

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Together we are making the story of Sudan known, empowering survivors, and working to 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.

$2,200: Funds an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for one semester.

$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.

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

$250 - Supports a teacher and their classroom for six weeks.

$150 - Empowers a nurse assistant for one month.

$100 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to four clinics.

$50 - Provides pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

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

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

Shareables

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

• Sudan has been trapped in a doom loop of silence since a brutal civil war began in April 2023. This documentary shines a light on the crisis. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/war-at-home-sudan-documentary

• “There’s a dark sense of déjà vu here. Images I remember seeing from the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s, unfolding again. And the silence is worse than the yells of shock we expect.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/war-at-home-sudan-documentary

• Watch this short documentary about the emergency unfolding in Sudan and get involved. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/war-at-home-sudan-documentary

Sudan trapped in a “doom loop of silence” after one year of war and humanitarian nightmare

Rachid had already fled her neighborhood in Nyala, Darfur for another since the war in Sudan began in April 2023. Now, with the genocidal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) —an Arab supremacist paramilitary group that has plagued the country for years— on the verge of taking over Sudan’s second largest city, she decided it was time to head for the border with South Sudan.

“I don’t remember what day I ran,” Rachid says. “I thought to be a woman when the janjaweed (RSF) come will mean evil done upon me. My friend was raped by them before. They do this to the black women. They hate us.”

View fullsize

Map: UNOCHA showing displacement and refugee movements. Click or tap to expand.

It was mid-October 2023. Several weeks of brutal battles between the RSF and national army had already made parts of Nyala a ghost town. Areas of the city under RSF control were being looted and terrified citizens were being sexually assaulted, tortured, and executed at the hands of the notorious paramilitary group. Rachid said the army made no effort to protect citizens. The situation was going from bad to worse very quickly.

“Running west to Chad was no good because the janjaweed were everywhere,” Rachid describes. “Running to South Sudan was a little safer. Less janjaweed.”

It took Rachid nine days to reach South Sudan. She somehow managed to avoid the RSF patrols that were quickly swarming the region. Rachid eventually stumbled into one of our Sudanese partners who was providing limited ground transport to people fleeing toward South Sudan. She got out just in time: by the end of October the RSF had overrun all of Nyala and most of Darfur.

Rachid now spends her days yearning to go home, but she knows she can’t until the RSF are gone. “As long as the janjaweed exists no one in Sudan is safe,” she says. “I don’t know where any of my family is. I don’t know if they are alive. No one can tell us when or how our nightmare ends.”

Sudan is home to the largest emergency in the world

Rachid’s story is shared by countless other Sudanese. As the country enters another year of war between Sudan’s ruthless national army and the barbaric Rapid Support Forces, generals on both sides have brought on the largest general displacement, child displacement, hunger, childhood education, and medical emergencies in the world.

The statistics are impossible to fathom. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —half the country— are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Over 8 million are displaced in Sudan’s borders or have fled the country altogether. 730,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and nearly 20 million more can no longer attend school.

Entire swaths of Sudan are too dangerous to access to try to determine a death and injury toll. What we do know is that all estimates are a severe undercount. As refugees pour into neighboring countries, they bring with them stories of mass graves, neighborhoods leveled and villages massacred, and soldiers and militias torturing and executing unarmed civilians viewed as “belonging” to the “other side.”

One recent estimate put the national death toll at 14,790 people. Meanwhile, a leaked United Nations report from three months ago suggests that up to 15,000 of the ethnic Masalit people were slaughtered in a single city during April-June of 2023 alone. It must be assumed that Sudan’s death toll is likely already soaring into the mid tens of thousands, if not higher. And with pockets of famine already breaking out in the hardest hit areas, the United Nations estimates that 230,000 children, pregnant women, and new mothers will die in the coming months due to hunger.

Behind all these hard-to-grasp numbers though are innumerable stories just like Rachid’s. No person should have to live like this. This is neither the life she signed up for nor the one she deserves. Understandably, she is baffled that the world seems not to have noticed.

A child is loaded into a truck taking people fleeing Sudan's war from Joda, on the Sudanese border, to Renk in South Sudan, where they will stay in a transit camp before they are transported further into the country. (Photo by Sally Hayden, Sipa via AP Images)

Reckoning with Sudan’s “doom loop” of silence

Sudan rarely shows up on anyone’s radar today for a myriad of reasons. The international aid and peacekeeping presence in the country has declined precipitously over the last 10 years. Western media especially has looked away following the U.S. military evacuating embassy staff from Khartoum a year ago. Being a local or international journalist on the ground has never been easy, but it is becoming impossible due to high levels of extreme violence. Both 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 of their plight out into the world.

Current affairs on the international stage are also keeping eyes away from Sudan. With so much of the world glued to Gaza/Israel and Ukraine, few have noticed that the catastrophe unfolding in Sudan eclipses both of these conflicts…combined. This is not to say what is happening in these two places is unimportant. It is to say what is happening in Sudan very much is.

Little attention means efforts to save lives are severely underfunded. The United Nation’s humanitarian response plans —more than $4 billion needed to keep the situation from merely getting worse— are only 6% funded. That doesn’t include what local Sudanese groups and the few private international organizations left in Sudan like us require to meet the needs the UN won’t get to even if they were fully funded.

Too few resources means fewer international and connected Sudanese eyes and ears on the ground, which means fewer stories and critical information gets back out into the world. And the cycle starts all over again.

This doom loop of silence is compounding the damage of an already horrifying emergency. Given the fact that Sudan rarely shows up in the news, classrooms, and other social settings, it is no surprise that many Americans especially struggle to point to Sudan on a map. Our information environment has not prioritized the Sudanese. As such, good people who would be inclined to help don’t have the opportunity to.

Signs of hope, and the need to get to work

Interestingly, people notice this doom loop when they become aware of what is happening in Sudan. As our organization has introduced new faces to this crisis over the past twelve months, the first question we almost always hear is some form of “why am I just hearing about this now?” Shock is often mixed with frustration, not just with the situation, but with those who can easily break this cycle not doing so.

Some have suggested that world leaders and globally-minded citizens are fatigued with Sudan. An older generation of well-connected activists who dearly love the Sudanese people is a fraction of the size it once was. The days of big name celebrities keeping a sustained light on Sudan are long past. Most of the well-known Congressional champions of the Sudanese people retired years ago.

One can easily despair, but these realities are the closing of but one chapter belonging to a much longer story, most of which has not been written yet. If we’ve learned anything these past twelve months it is that people are more than willing to help, but they have to be educated and asked first.

We know from experience that this takes years of hard work and considerable resources to do at scale. Overcoming this challenge isn’t going to happen from the top down. It falls to ordinary people like us to educate ourselves and commit to standing with our friends in Sudan, no matter what. And we must invite others to join us.

A new generation of engaged American activists allied to Sudanese heroes is called for. There needs to be a sustained effort to cultivate that generation, from the ground up and the middle out, in cities and communities across the United States. This work does not belong to one individual or one organization. It cannot be done overnight. Neither can breaking the doom loop of silence our friends in Sudan are trapped in.

We are doing our part though. From creating new learning resources for classrooms to providing more news and analysis that is free to all, to building simple tools newcomers can use to help educate their friends to launching creative ways they can directly support Sudanese heroes, we are already seeing signs of hope that a new generation of activists can be educated and mobilized to help.

Today marks one year since this emergency in Sudan began. We all have a role to play in helping people like Rachid. Will you join us?

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Together we are making the story of Sudan known, empowering survivors, and working to 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.

$2,200: Funds an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for one semester.

$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.

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

$250 - Supports a teacher and their classroom for six weeks.

$150 - Empowers a nurse assistant for one month.

$100 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to four clinics.

$50 - Provides pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

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

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

Shareables

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

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

• “As long as the janjaweed exist no one in Sudan is safe,” Rachid says. “I don’t know where any of my family is. I don’t know if they are alive. No one can tell us when or how our nightmare ends.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-trapped-in-a-doom-loop-of-silence-after-one-year-of-war-and-humanitarian-nightmare

• Sudan is trapped in a “doom loop of silence” after one year of war and a humanitarian nightmare. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-trapped-in-a-doom-loop-of-silence-after-one-year-of-war-and-humanitarian-nightmare

• Sudan’s warring generals have brought on the largest general displacement, child displacement, hunger, childhood education, and medical emergencies in the world. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-trapped-in-a-doom-loop-of-silence-after-one-year-of-war-and-humanitarian-nightmare

• Today marks one year since this emergency in Sudan began. The situation is bleak, largely because the world is not paying attention. We can all play our part in changing that. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-trapped-in-a-doom-loop-of-silence-after-one-year-of-war-and-humanitarian-nightmare

How can I help Sudan?

Next week marks one year since the war in Sudan began. Brutal fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces has given way to the largest humanitarian emergency in the world.

Nearly 25 million Sudanese —half the country— need urgent food and medical assistance. Over 8 million are displaced in Sudan’s borders or have fled the country. 730,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Nearly 20 million more can no longer attend school. And over 70% of Sudan’s healthcare system has collapsed.

You can click here to learn more about this crisis. Right now we want to provide three easy ways to support our Sudanese partners:

1. Give now

$2,200: Funds an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for a semester.

$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.

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

$250 - Supports a teacher and their classroom for one month.

$150 - Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.

$100 - Gives pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.

$50 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.

Donate Stock or Crypto | Make checks payable to Operation Broken Silence and mail to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900

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

2. Join Miles for Sudan

Our new global event helps runners, walkers, and cyclists save and change lives in Sudan, from wherever you call home! Here’s how it works:

• Pick a month.

• Set your mileage goal and how much you will raise per mile.

• Get moving and ask friends to donate to your fundraising page!

Signing up is free and we’ll send you a t-shirt if you raise $200+. Have questions? Check out our FAQ.

3. Email your Representative (U.S. Specific, April 12 Deadline)

Contact your member of Congress and urge them to sign this letter to the Biden Administration being organized by Representatives Dan Kildee and Young Kim. If you are not sure who your Representative is, find them here. Feel free to copy/paste this message to them:

Dear Representative (insert name),

Since April 2023, fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country. In December 2023, the State Department made an official atrocity determination, stating that SAF has committed war crimes and the RSF has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Violence against civilians remains at high levels and famine now looms over large swaths of Sudan.

Sudan has long been a bipartisan focus of Congress, with members of both parties working together to propel forward better policy and increased attention across multiple administrations. Congressional leadership is needed once more as Sudan is in the grips of the largest humanitarian emergency in the world.

As one of your constituents, I am asking that you add your name to a Congressional letter addressed to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Administrator Power. This letter is being organized by your colleagues Representatives Dan Kildee and Young Kim. Please contact their offices to read the text and add your name. Your voice matters in this time of extreme crisis. Thank you.

Sincerely,

(your name and address)

Shareables

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

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

• It’s not in the news, but the world’s largest humanitarian emergency right now is unfolding in Sudan. Will you join me in helping? https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/how-can-i-help-sudan

• Next week marks one year since the war in Sudan began. Brutal fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces has given way to the largest humanitarian emergency in the world. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/how-can-i-help-sudan

• Contact your member of Congress and urge them to sign a letter to the Biden Administration about the emergency in Sudan. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/how-can-i-help-sudan

Joint statement in support of progress toward a Crimes Against Humanity treaty

Photo from Canva Pro.

Operation Broken Silence is joining 300+ international organizations and experts to express our support for a global convention on crimes against humanity. As an organization working in Sudan’s war zones for more than a decade, we have seen firsthand why the world needs a crimes against humanity treaty.

Together, we are urging states to utilize the 2024 April Resumed Session of the UN’s Sixth Committee to express strong support for a procedure to be adopted at the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly to move the Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity forward to negotiations for a treaty. You can view the joint statement below.

What are crimes against humanity?

Crimes against humanity are defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as:

“any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: Murder; Extermination; Enslavement; Deportation or forcible transfer of population; Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; Torture; Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity; Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; Enforced disappearance of persons; The crime of apartheid; Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.”

To learn more about crimes against humanity and similar transgressions, please see our educational resource on mass atrocity crimes.

Why does the world need a treaty on crimes against humanity?

Crimes against humanity are prohibited under the Rome Statute and under customary international law; however, unlike for genocide and war crimes, no standalone treaty exists obligating states to prevent and punish crimes against humanity. This dangerous gap in international law fosters impunity and creates a false hierarchy between equally serious international crimes.

A crimes against humanity treaty will not only help fill this gap, but creates an opportunity to incorporate decades of progress made towards addressing international crimes since the drafting of the Rome Statute, including sexual and gender-based violence, persecution, enforced disappearances, and environmental crimes.

Codifying these crimes will not stop them from occurring, but clear international and domestic legal rules are an important first step to holding perpetrators accountable. The existence of these laws signals to potential perpetrators that they will face justice if they commit these crimes, which can contribute to deterring their commission over time. A treaty can also codify the rights of victims and require states to engage with them to achieve justice. This is an important step in the right direction.

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the civil war and mass atrocity crimes spread and needs skyrocket. Your generosity will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.

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