Sudan, Congo, & What You Can Do

Humanitarian catastrophes are increasing before our eyes—here's how you can help counter the injustice

In the Sudanese Proxy War, the world is witnessing one of the gravest—and most ignored—humanitarian catastrophes. Similarly, the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Congo is directly tied to the legacy of slavery and the decades long genocidal reign of terror and genocide by Belgium King Leopold II. Unsurprisingly, legacy media is notably absent on both to the detriment of all humanity. Below I focus on Sudan, and later this week you will see an update from me on the crisis in the Congo.

I am hopeful that you will use the information here to increase your understanding of both crises, and more play an active role in supporting victims to help end their suffering.

Let’s Address This.

A Sudanese girl at a transit centre for refugees in Renk, South Sudan, earlier this year. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images

What You Need to Know About Sudan

The current Sudan crisis ignited in April of 2023. The UN High Commission on Refugees (“UNCHR”) reports that since then the crisis has:

• Forced 11.3 million people from their homes with more than 8 million displaced internally. In total, 25 million people, nearly half of Sudan’s population, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection services.

• As of October 2024, 3 million people had fled to the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and Uganda.

• Famine is confirmed in parts of North Darfur since August 2024.

To put it in perspective, 25 million is a population greater than the entire populations of around a 140 nations globally. Sudanese run community platform NasAlSudan is an excellent source of accurate insight on Sudan. I provide below their published content below and highly encourage you to follow them and elevate them on social media.

Where is The International Criminal Court?

The ICC is taking action in Sudan. Since being sworn into office in June, 2021, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has visited Sudan multiple times to speak with survivors. And among his first orders of business after being sworn in was in July 2021, when the ICC advanced charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity on 31 counts against Ali Muhammad Abd-Al-Rahman and committed him to trial—all brought forth by prosecutor Karim Khan. Regarding General Hamdan, mentioned in the above graphic, the ICC is also working on advancing that case. As ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan reported in August of 2022:

In my meetings with the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, I was clear that full cooperation was now required from the Sudanese authorities in order to progress the cases concerning the remaining suspects in the Darfur situation and ensure the Ali Kushayb trial marks the beginning of a process towards broader justice. [emphasis mine]

The August 2022 announcement then details the specific actions being taken against those committing war crimes, including General Dagalo, and what steps the ICC is taking to protect vulnerable communities. However, the work continues as with each passing day the conflict grows more unstable. As NPR reports citing UNICEF:

According to UNICEF, at least 77 hospitals across Sudan have come under attack since the war began. Aid groups say that with the extreme fighting that’s resulted in the displacement of more than 7 million people, Sudan has become the largest humanitarian crisis in the world and that the attacks have made it difficult for health workers to respond and provide critical medical services to millions of people.

How can you help?

NasAlSudan created this helpful graphic on the three areas we can each support the people of Sudan. Deepen your knowledge about Sudan (by listening to Sudanese scholars like Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik, donate to grassroots organizations on the ground like the Sudan UN fund that is exclusively focused on the people of Sudan, and write to your member of Congress to demand action and peace.

Tens of millions of innocent people continue to suffer horrific atrocity in Sudan. It is critical we use our platforms to raise awareness and understanding, and most importantly, action to encourage peace and justice. Please share this content by NasAlSudan, elevate hashtags like #KeepEyesOnSudan, and continue to raise your voice for justice for the people of Sudan. And if you have the means to contribute your funds to Sudanese humanitarian causes, please do so.

In fact, for every new subscriber from this article, free or paid, I will donate $10—up to $1000—to the United Nations Sudan Humanitarian fund. I am doing this both because I believe in leading by example, and also because I want each of you to be involved in countering this crisis. To be clear, even if you subscribe for free and spend $0 in doing so, I will donate $10. If you are already a subscriber, then share this with your network and help get more thoughtful people to #KeepEyesOnSudan.

My ask of you—please make me contribute $1000. You have my commitment to continue to elevate these key issues impacting human rights domestically and globally. Subscribe below for up to date insights going forward. And stay tuned for my update on the Congo later this week.

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