WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced a bipartisan resolution urging the United Nations (UN) Security Council to increase enforcement of the existing Darfur arms embargo and extend it to cover all of Sudan. The resolution is in response to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has escalated into the largest and fastest growing humanitarian crisis in the world. This January, the State Department determined that the RSF is committing a genocide. 

Estimates reveal that the conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has already led to over 150,000 civilian deaths and displaced over 12 million people. The violent campaigns by both parties, including mass atrocities and war crimes, as well as crimes against humanity and acts of genocide committed by the RSF, echo the horrors of the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s. The steady supply of arms, including foreign made weapons, to the RSF and SAF by outside actors have directly contributed to the length and lethality of the war. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have reported widespread atrocities, including forced recruitment of children, sexual violence, and extensive destruction of homes, hospitals, and schools.

“Sudanese civilians are bearing the brunt of this catastrophic war between the SAF and RSF that has been perpetuated by external sponsors. The United States and the international community must take decisive action to put an end to the suffering,” said Senator Booker. “It is beyond time for the UN Security Council to stem the flow of weapons into Sudan, hold accountable those violating the existing Darfur arms embargo, and swiftly pass a resolution to expand the embargo nationwide. Furthermore, the Trump administration’s decision to stop life-saving humanitarian assistance to the war-torn and famine-stricken areas of Sudan is unconscionable. These vital programs must be resumed immediately.”

 “Since 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in one of the most destructive wars in the world, which has displaced over 10 million people and killed an estimated 150,000,” said Senator Rounds. “We are once again calling on the United Nations Security Council to immediately expand and enforce an already-existing arms embargo which was passed nearly 20 years ago.”

This resolution calls for an immediate nationwide ceasefire and urges the UN Security Council to extend the Darfur arms embargo to cover all of Sudan and implement a more stringent sanctions regime on embargo violators and perpetrators of atrocities. To date, there has been limited enforcement of the current embargo. The resolution also condemns the genocide being carried out by the RSF and allied militias against the Masalit people and other non-Arab groups in Darfur. The resolution urges the UN Security Council and the United States government to work with partners and allies, including the African Union, to establish better mechanisms for humanitarian aid delivery and civilian protection.  

To read the full text of the resolution, click here.