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s the Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I am concerned that the potential of the US-Africa relationship is not being realized due to the failure of US policy to address the very real challenges being faced on the continent. 

One of the largest humanitarian crises taking place today is in Sudan, where over 18 months of devastating conflict has escaped the attention of the world. 

Why is this the case? In 2004, when the Janjaweed, a militant organization, was committing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, there was international coverage of the suffering of the Sudanese people led by Hollywood celebrities.  

Today, genocide is once again being committed in Darfur. It is unacceptable to hide behind the Ukraine war and conflict in the Middle East and claim a lack of resources or attention to act. In September 2004, the United States was involved in two wars in the Middle East with US soldiers on the ground, and yet President George W. Bush’s administration declared genocide in Darfur, refusing to ignore the plight of the Sudanese people. 

Today, as the largest humanitarian crisis in the world unfolds, US policy has insufficiently responded with an uncoordinated sanctions strategy and dead-end, failed peace talks.  

Congressional leaders will, therefore, lead the way in holding malign actors accountable. In April 2024, the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee requested that a determination be made on whether the Rapid Support Forces leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), should be designated by The Global Magnitsky Sanctions program and that existing authority be used to sanction the Sudanese Armed Forces leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. This letter triggered a legal requirement for the administration to reply to Congress within 120 days with a decision. Unfortunately, the administration passed the buck, ignoring the seriousness of the bipartisan, congressional concern.  

In 2004, it was also Congress who took the lead in declaring genocide being committed by the Janjaweed. In July 2024, the House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 1328 which I introduced to again declare genocide in Darfur. It is beyond time for the Department of State to make the same determination. 

I also call on the US government to declassify intelligence on the involvement of all third parties in the conflict in Sudan.  

I will continue to bring awareness to the immense humanitarian cost of the conflict in Sudan, including through the formal declaration of genocide in Darfur, and to the destabilizing actions of third parties involved in the conflict. This conflict must end, and it will only do so when the world holds the actors involved accountable.