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Emergency Briefing on Sudan’s Escalating Crisis

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security convened an emergency public briefing titled Women Bearing Witness: Sudan’s Escalating Crisis, featuring Sudanese activist and regional expert Hala Al-Karib. The conversation shed urgent light on a crisis the world has been neglecting, and one in which women are being deliberately targeted and communities are being uprooted.

Sudan has witnessed a brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 15, 2023. Late last month, the RSF took control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in the western part of Sudan after a 500 day siege. Severe violations of human rights that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity have been reported. An analysis of satellite imagery viewed by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab showed that mass killings have been committed in El-Fasher. 

A War Fought on Women’s Bodies

Al-Karib emphasized a devastating truth: women in Sudan are being targeted not only for their ethnic and religious identities, but also for being women. Gender-based violence is widespread and systematic, used intentionally to terrorize communities and destroy the social fabric. As she noted, “this war has been fought over the bodies of women”. 

Al-Karib, in her capacity as regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), has been given countless testimonies from survivors. Her organization lost two volunteers who ran community kitchens and were killed in front of their children; one of them was pregnant. These were grassroots women leaders feeding the displaced, yet they became targets of the violence they were working tirelessly to alleviate. And still, Sudanese women continue to lead. Women are running community kitchens, coordinating aid, and providing lifesaving support across Sudan. Their work has been heroic, despite being largely invisible to the outside world.

A Crisis Rooted in Decades of Atrocities and in Sudan’s Mineral Wealth

Al-Karib placed the conflict in a crucial historical and political context. What is unfolding today is the continuation of a 25-year cycle of genocide and systemic atrocities in Darfur. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), formerly the Janjaweed, have entered yet another episode of violent clash, backed by external actors seeking to extract Sudan’s mineral wealth. 

Meanwhile, the international response has been marked by alarming neglect. Sudan, despite its geostrategic importance as the third largest country in Africa with borders connecting seven states, remains at the bottom of global priorities. The lack of protection mechanisms, the absence of mediation efforts, and the severe underfunding of aid and services for survivors of gender-based violence all contribute to what Al-Karib described as “intentional neglect.” Impunity continues to drive the conflict, giving perpetrators a green light to commit atrocities. “We have been left alone,” Al-Karib said, a sentiment shared by Sudanese activists on the ground.

A Call to Action

The briefing concluded with an urgent appeal. To prevent further atrocities and support Sudanese civilians, especially women, Al-Karib called for:

  • Putting pressure on governments and elected representatives to elevate Sudan as a global priority.
  • Stopping the flow of arms into Sudan.
  • Deploying a peacekeeping mission capable of protecting civilians.
  • Ensuring Sudanese voices, especially those of women, are present in every forum.
  • Demanding multilateral institutions provide resources, protection, and a credible mediation process.
  • Empowering independent accountability mechanisms, including enabling the ICC to conduct investigations.

Bearing Witness, Taking Responsibility

Women are bearing witness in Sudan and they are shouldering the heaviest burdens of this conflict. Sudanese women have done everything they can with courage and dignity. Now, the world must act, not out of charity, but out of responsibility. Al-Karib appealed to all stakeholders to “protest against the destabilization of Sudan, against the genocide of the Darfuri people and to raise funds for women-led grassroots organizations across Sudan”.

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