What is currently the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis? We would not be surprised if your answer were the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, or between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. But you would be wrong. Although those conflicts seem to generate far more headlines, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world is currently happening in Sudan. Again.
It was just 4.5 years ago that the Sudanese conflict centered in the Darfur region was brought to its conclusion through the signing of a peace agreement. Now a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces and their partners have waged war against the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the Sudanese people are taking the losses. And the losses have been tragic.
Men, boys and infants are being murdered for their ethnic identity. Women and girls are victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence, once again upon the basis of ethnic identity. More than 11.5 million people — 24% of the Sudanese population — have been forced from their homes. The most conservative estimates say that 28,000 people have been killed, but some believe the number to be closer to 150,000.
It is in the face of all of this massive human tragedy that we have been heartened by the Biden administration’s recent decision to state that the rebel group is guilty of committing genocide, and to issue financial sanctions against the rebel leaders.
Sudan is in dire need, and international intervention is almost certainly going to be necessary to prevent any furthering of the genocide. We applaud the Biden administration’s strength to call this what it is — genocide. It is an important step, but it is also just one of many important steps that need to come.
We have been working in Sudan for many years. Imam Magid is originally from Sudan, where his father once served in the presidential administration as Sudan’s Grand Mufti. We have traveled there multiple times, including most recently in May 2024, where we met with displaced individuals, members of the Sudanese government and Rapid Support Forces supporters. Almost two years ago, just before this current conflict broke out, we led a multifaith retreat in Khartoum, the capital city, with religious leaders from the Christian and Muslim community. It was a powerful time of collaboration.
Since that time, however, most of those leaders have been displaced across the country or even out of the country. Those who have remained in Sudan have created vital chains to provide resources and supplies to those in need. These clerics have done what clerics ought to do, serving as the moral backbone of a broken country, meeting needs and providing comfort to the hurting, a number which they are themselves a part of. We have spoken to them, visited refugee camps with them and listened to their horrific stories. We have pictures and videos of burned down homes, looted and destroyed houses of worship, and, worst of all, dismembered Sudanese, some alive and some dead. These are not simply stories to us — they are people that we know, people we have firsthand relationships with, and it is vital that America pay attention.
In the last month, our organization, the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, brought Sultan Saad Baharledin, the sultan of Dar Massalit in the Darfur region of Sudan, to address the United Nations Security Council and to meet with U.S. government officials at the U.S. State Department, two members of Congress and USAID. He delivered a keynote address at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Additionally, he met with prominent members of the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, as well as large groups from various Sudanese American communities and faith-based organizations. This was an opportunity for influential government leaders to hear firsthand what was occurring in Sudan and, we believe, was an additional step in encouraging the Biden administration to state that these atrocities in the Sudan are a genocide. We pray that the Trump administration will continue to work to resolve this conflict and we look forward to supporting these efforts.
We believe that the next step is to increase advocacy on behalf of the Sudanese people, to support those in need in Sudan and to continue to be a moral voice for good in this region. All of this will serve to shine a light on the atrocities that are ongoing in Sudan, but also the beauty and potential of this wonderful country.