[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 831 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 831
Supporting the inclusion of the women of Sudan in United States efforts
to end the conflict in Sudan.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2024
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Booker) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the inclusion of the women of Sudan in United States efforts
to end the conflict in Sudan.
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 commitment to include women from
Sudan's civil society in internationally brokered peace talks.
<all>