[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 146 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6222-S6224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 831--SUPPORTING THE INCLUSION OF THE WOMEN OF SUDAN 
         IN UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO END THE CONFLICT IN SUDAN

  Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. Booker) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

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                              S. Res. 831

       Whereas the women of Sudan have long led the fight for 
     democracy in Sudan, including by establishing the Sudanese 
     Women's Union after Sudan won its independence;
       Whereas, following the end of the regime of Omar al-Bashir 
     in April 2019, many Sudanese women mobilized and advocated 
     for a civilian transitional government and secured progress 
     such as the criminalization of female genital mutilation, the 
     repeal of strict public order laws that governed the presence 
     and attire of women in public spaces, and the codification of 
     women's rights in the transitional constitution;
       Whereas, despite making progress toward the meaningful 
     inclusion of women in the political process, women in Sudan 
     were largely left out of peace efforts and talks to 
     transition to a civilian government;
       Whereas many Sudanese women led and participated in 
     protests to hold their government accountable during the 
     transitional period and against the overthrow of Sudan's 
     civilian transitional government by General Abdel Fattah al-
     Burhan, chair of the transitional Sovereign Council and head 
     of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and other members of the 
     Transitional Military Council, including Rapid Support Forces 
     commander Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti);
       Whereas, in response to the protests, military officials 
     conducted a crackdown on peaceful protestors that included 
     extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and 
     the use of sexual- and gender-based violence to silence and 
     oppress women;
       Whereas, despite calls for accountability by the women of 
     Sudan and the international community, numerous perpetrators 
     of human rights abuses in Sudan have never been brought to 
     justice, including those who perpetrated violence under the 
     Omar al-Bashir regime, during the protests to end the regime, 
     and as part of the military junta that took power from the 
     transitional government;
       Whereas the systemic oppression of protestors has 
     facilitated democratic backsliding and perpetuated a culture 
     of impunity in Sudan;
       Whereas, on April 15, 2023, war broke out in Sudan between 
     the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, 
     resulting in thousands of civilian casualties and a crisis 
     for the future of democratic governance in Sudan;
       Whereas Sudan is facing the world's largest internal 
     displacement crisis with more than 11,000,000 people 
     internally displaced;
       Whereas Sudan is facing the world's worst education crisis 
     as more than 19,000,000 children, more than half of whom are 
     girls, are out of school due to violence or displacement;
       Whereas Sudan is facing the world's worst hunger crisis as 
     more than 25,000,000 people, the majority of whom are women 
     and children, are facing acute food insecurity due to the 
     war;
       Whereas, as of March 2024 in Sudan, more than 1,000,000 
     women who are pregnant or breastfeeding were facing acute 
     malnutrition and more than 3,000,000 children were facing 
     acute malnutrition, and the nutrition situation has since 
     deteriorated sharply;
       Whereas the Famine Review Committee has determined that 
     famine is taking place in Zamzam camp in North Darfur, which 
     is home to more than 500,000 displaced people, and the Famine 
     Early Warning Network warns that nearby areas, as well as 
     other parts of the Darfur and Kordofan regions and the 
     capital, Khartoum, also face a risk of famine;
       Whereas, globally, women are more likely to suffer during 
     famines and go hungry in the face of food insecurity;
       Whereas the United Nations estimates that more than 
     6,700,000 people in Sudan face risks of gender-based 
     violence;
       Whereas, in October 2023, the Human Rights Council 
     established an independent fact-finding mission for Sudan 
     that found that instances of sexual exploitation, sexual 
     slavery, and sexual abuse are occurring in Sudan, 
     particularly in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, 
     in addition to torture, rape, and other forms of sexual 
     violence;
       Whereas instances of sexual violence in Sudan are primarily 
     perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces as a tool to commit 
     genocide;
       Whereas, since the war began, rates of domestic violence in 
     Sudan have increased;
       Whereas hundreds of cases of rape have been reported during 
     the war, resulting in one of the highest rates of rape during 
     conflict ever reported;
       Whereas rape and other forms of gender-based violence are 
     underreported, especially during armed conflict;
       Whereas Article 27 of the Geneva Convention (IV) relative 
     to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at 
     Geneva August 12, 1949 (commonly referred to as the ``Fourth 
     Geneva Convention''), recognizes rape as a war crime in 
     conflict settings;
       Whereas sexual violence is used in many conflict settings 
     as a tool to humiliate, control, oppress, and defeat women 
     and the communities to which they belong;
       Whereas approximately 80 percent of hospitals and medical 
     centers are not operating in Sudan, resulting in unmet sexual 
     and reproductive health needs in addition to a lack of 
     essential medicine and other health services;
       Whereas more than half of internally displaced persons in 
     Sudan are women and girls, and 88 percent of registered 
     refugees fleeing the war are women and children;
       Whereas ethnic minorities in Sudan are at increased risk of 
     gender-based violence;
       Whereas women and girls fleeing the war have experienced 
     gender-based violence in refugee camps and host communities;
       Whereas countries neighboring Sudan and elsewhere have 
     hosted Sudanese refugees and worked to provide them with 
     life-saving resources;
       Whereas, on February 26, 2024, the United States appointed 
     a Special Envoy for Sudan to coordinate United States efforts 
     to end the conflict in Sudan, secure unhindered humanitarian 
     access, and support the Sudanese people as they seek to 
     fulfill their aspirations for freedom, peace, and justice;
       Whereas there has been a more than 60 percent increase in 
     the number of women and girls requiring gender-based violence 
     recovery services since the start of the war;
       Whereas humanitarian assistance, including gender-
     responsive assistance, has been consistently blocked by 
     warring factions from regions of Sudan impacted by the 
     conflict;
       Whereas the Peace for Sudan Platform, which includes more 
     than 49 women-led peace, humanitarian, and civil society 
     organizations, has advocated for an end to the conflict and 
     the protection of women and girls;
       Whereas hundreds of women peace activists from Sudan have 
     called for an end to the conflict and for justice for victims 
     of the conflict, including for survivors of gender-based 
     violence, including through forums such as the United Nations 
     Security Council, the Jeddah talks, and other internationally 
     brokered ceasefire talks;
       Whereas, in August 2024, the United States hosted peace 
     talks in Switzerland and underscored the importance of the 
     participation of women in conflict resolution, but the talks 
     concluded without direct contact between the warring factions 
     or a path forward to end the war;
       Whereas, during the talks in Switzerland, the United 
     States, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Nations, the 
     African Union, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, calling 
     themselves the ``Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace 
     in Sudan Group'', were able to secure commitments from the 
     warring parties to expand humanitarian routes, but 
     restrictions remain and ongoing hostilities continue to 
     hinder access, including to famine-affected people in North 
     Darfur;
       Whereas the United States and its partners and allies 
     should continue to advocate for an urgent end to the war that 
     restores Sudan's path to democracy, holds perpetrators of the 
     conflict to account, and prioritizes the leadership of 
     Sudanese women;
       Whereas it is the policy of the United States to promote 
     the inclusion of women in peace negotiations and to integrate 
     gender considerations into the formation of United States 
     foreign policy; and
       Whereas the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public 
     Law 115-68) requires training on the meaningful participation 
     of women in conflict prevention and resolution, and when 
     women participate in conflict resolution and peace 
     negotiations, peace plans are 35 percent more likely to 
     endure: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes that the women of Sudan are instrumental in 
     ensuring a democratic and peaceful Sudan and must be included 
     in negotiating and forming the future of their country;
       (2) commends the women of Sudan for their commitment to a 
     civilian-led, democratic government and their efforts to end 
     the war in Sudan;
       (3) reaffirms support for the inclusion and participation 
     of Sudanese women in all security-related discussions and 
     peace negotiations to ensure a gender-inclusive resolution to 
     the war in Sudan;
       (4) notes with concern the ongoing lack of education 
     available for girls in Sudan and the long-term impact lack of 
     education could have on the future of Sudan;
       (5) supports the empowerment of women's organizations 
     advocating for peace in Sudan and efforts by the United 
     States Special Envoy for Sudan, foreign governments, and 
     multilateral institutions to document human rights abuses, 
     including gender-based violence;
       (6) urges additional resources for civil society 
     organizations in Sudan working to document human rights 
     abuses, including gender-based violence;
       (7) urges additional humanitarian assistance, including for 
     comprehensive gender-based violence prevention and response;
       (8) condemns the use of gender-based violence and rape as 
     weapons of war;
       (9) calls on all countries to support the prosecution of 
     actors involved in human rights abuses and violations, 
     including gender-based violence, and to support an end to the 
     culture of impunity in Sudan;
       (10) urges all parties involved in the conflict to allow 
     for increased levels of humanitarian assistance to reach 
     communities across Sudan through all possible modalities, 
     particularly in Darfur, and for all countries to support 
     increased levels of humanitarian assistance to Sudan, 
     including through local Sudanese nongovernmental 
     organizations; and
       (11) urges the implementation of an immediate ceasefire in 
     Sudan by all parties and a

[[Page S6224]]

     commitment to include women from Sudan's civil society in 
     internationally brokered peace talks.

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