Will US Action Follow Words on Sudan? Daily Brief December 12, 2023

In US eyes, it’s now official: atrocity crimes have been committed in Sudan.

Confirming what’s been widely known for ages – and reported in this newsletter again and again and again – the United States government has formally announced its determination that war crimes and crimes against humanity have taken place over the last eight months of conflict in Sudan.

In a statement last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have perpetrated war crimes. Blinken further said the RSF and its allied militias are also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

It’s an acknowledgement of the horror and suffering that has engulfed Sudan since mid-April. UN figures put the death toll at more than 12,000 and the number displaced from their homes at 6.6 million – the largest number of displaced people in the world. Methodical atrocities and ethnically targeted mass killings in Darfur have sent more than 450,000 fleeing into Chad alone.

The question for Washington now is: what next?

What diplomatic and other efforts will emerge from this official US determination and recognition that grave abuses are happening in Sudan?

At best, that’s unclear. Blinken did not announce any actions. Here are three suggestions, among many other ideas:

First, the US should proactively initiate talks with international partners to find ways to protect civilians in Sudan – alongside the UN, African Union, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which have not been able to provide adequate protection. They need to put major diplomatic weight behind this.

Second, the US should impose additional sanctions on individuals against whom there is credible and sufficient evidence that they are responsible for atrocity crimes.

Third, the US government should express strong backing for the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s investigation of recent crimes committed in Darfur. It should work with the prosecutor to find the best ways the US can support the ICC’s effective prosecution of those implicated in atrocities.

Washington’s formal acknowledgement of the horrors that have been unfolding in Sudan for months is fine as far as it goes – but it doesn’t go very far. Words now need to be put into action.