Unique opportunity to end genocide in Sudan with
priority and action by the new president
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 9, 2016 – Act for Sudan
calls on President-elect Trump to take advantage of the unique opportunity of
the start of his new administration to dramatically change the dynamics and
effectiveness of U.S. policy on Sudan by implementing a strong policy to end
the government-sponsored violence in Sudan, protect civilians, ensure
unhindered humanitarian access for those in need, and bring the perpetrators of
genocide and mass atrocities to justice at the International Criminal Court.
The opportunity for effecting change in Sudan is
amplified by a combination of factors, including increased internal political
opposition; effective resistance by rebels united with a vision for a
democratic, secular, inclusive Sudan; growing protests by civil society in
Sudan due to economic failure brought on by the regime’s incompetent management
and prioritization of financing wars against its own people; sustained pressure
from U.S. sanctions; and the potential impact of a new, strong U.S. policy on
Sudan that supports change, in contrast to the Obama policy that has allowed
genocide and mass atrocities to continue in Sudan.
President Obama’s policy on Sudan is a stunning
failure that must be corrected by the next president.
The U.S. must implement a new pro-democracy and
civilian protection-oriented policy that holistically addresses the root cause
of Sudan’s multiple conflicts: the repressive and genocidal Sudan regime.
U.S policy on Sudan must reflect the continuing
strategic threat that the government of Sudan poses, not only to its people,
but also in destabilizing its neighbors and the region; in supporting terrorism
inside Sudan and internationally; and in its leadership role in the
violent extremism of the Muslim Brotherhood.
U.S. policy on Sudan must reflect the fact that U.S.
law recognizes that the actions and policies of the Government of Sudan
“continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security
and foreign policy of the United States.”
The Obama administration has frequently expressed
grave concerns, but has pursued a policy of engagement, even now, employing
conciliatory diplomacy rather than confronting the regime in Sudan with
consequences for genocide and crimes against humanity. Over the last
eight years, Sudan’s President Bashir and the ruling National Congress Party
(NCP) have learned that there are few or no real consequences for their
actions.
U.S. policy on Sudan has allowed the genocide in
Darfur to continue and the same government to initiate another genocide against
its people in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions of Sudan. Crimes against
humanity, war crimes, obstructing U.N. peacekeepers, mass rape, cultural
obliteration, bombing of civilians, contravening a variety of U.N. Security
Council demands, and blocking humanitarian assistance are commonplace even as
millions of Sudanese in regions around the country suffer from crisis and
emergency levels of food insecurity. Religious persecution is on the rise with
the government arresting pastors, threatening them with execution, and
confiscating churches. In addition, Sudan has been permitted to provide money
and weapons to renegade elements to destabilize its neighbors, including South
Sudan and Libya, and to support jihadi terrorists and Islamic extremists in the
region, including Mali, Libya, and Gaza. Recent reports of Sudan using
chemical weapons against civilians illustrate the heinous nature of the regime
in Khartoum and reflects its sense of impunity.
U.S. policy on Sudan must change in order to change
the political calculations of the government of Sudan.
The next president of the United States must confront
the crises in Sudan, end the genocide and mass atrocities, and set Sudan on a
path to peace and justice.
Confronting the regime in Sudan should include
implementing some or all of these actions:
1. Appoint Africa experts to key positions
in the State Department and National Security Council who understand the nature
of the regime in Sudan and the strategic problems it poses, and who are
committed to creatively resolving those problems, rather than allowing the
crises to fester. Potential appointees should be rejected if they are
apologists for the regime who oppose sanctions or downplay the regime’s role in
terrorism and extremist violence, or if they are academics without passion for
resolving the conflicts.
2. Not only enforce all current U.S.
sanctions, but also oppose debt relief and cash transfers to the government of
Sudan, discourage investments in Sudan and trade missions to Khartoum, and work
to increase economic pressure on Sudan both unilaterally and multi-laterally,
thereby strengthening the effects of U.S. sanctions. In addition, work to
identify, freeze and recover assets stolen by Sudanese officials so that they
can be used for the benefit of the people of Sudan.
3. Support an end to the NCP’s control of
the government of Sudan.
4. Support the movement within Sudan for
true democratic transformation.
5. Build a coalition of allies to
arrest President Bashir and hand him over to the International Criminal Court
for prosecution.
6. Support the SRF rebels who are under
attack by the Sudan government and are united with a vision for a democratic,
secular, inclusive Sudan and a program for democratic transformation.
7. Build the capacity of Sudanese groups
on the ground, who are not associated with the government of Sudan, to become
more effective partners in humanitarian relief, including working with groups
aligned with the SRF.
8. Start delivering humanitarian aid to
the starving Sudanese civilians in the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan, Blue
Nile, and Darfur, with or without agreement from the government of Sudan or the
U.N. Security Council, with multilateral partners or unilaterally, and with the
urgency required to save desperately needy people. Cargo planes should be
dispatched immediately to airdrop food to areas in need.
9. Help protect Nuban, Blue Nile, and
Darfuri populations from attacks by notifying President Bashir that the United
States will selectively destroy Sudan’s offensive aerial or other military
assets that engage in attacking civilian targets, and do so if the warning is
not heeded.
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