World Refugee Day – Protection and Dignity
Today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. As the world reflects on the situation of refugees, we would like to take the opportunity to draw attention to the crisis in Sudan and the suffering of those forced to flee their homes and left without protection or support. Sudanese civilians are enduring the largest and fastest-growing displacement crisis in the world.
For over two years, Sudan has been engulfed in a vicious cycle of violence, death, and destruction that has killed hundreds of thousands and forced millions out of their homes. This refugee crisis has led to over 13 million people being forcibly displaced. Over 10 million people have been internally displaced within Sudan, and over 4 million people have fled the country in search of safety.
Many are forced to escape to neighboring countries already facing conflicts or resource shortages like Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Egypt and Libya. In Chad alone, over 800,000 refugees have fled from Darfur, the majority of them women and children.
Women and children bear the brunt of this crisis. With men more often killed, detained, or disappeared, women are often left as the primary caretakers and decision makers, forced to flee with their children. As they seek safety, they face heightened risks of sexual violence at shelters and at illegal checkpoints. Adding to the tragedy, 90% of Sudanese children have no access to formal education. They are robbed of their right to an education and brighter future.
More recently, since the attacks on the Zamzam camp in April, there has been a documented rise in forced displacement and the detention of displaced people with nowhere to go. Over 800,000 displaced people fled the Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and Tawila camps and are living in catastrophic conditions due to lack of basic services and a near total absence of humanitarian aid. There is no access to clean water, no functioning clinics, and reports of child malnutrition and disease outbreaks are rising by the day.
This World Refugee Day, we are forced to reckon with the recent U.S. travel ban on Sudan and other countries. The ban restricts visa access for Sudanese citizens, which effectively shuts the door on refugees who seek safety and a new life in the United States. It is imperative that US policies to Sudan and other crises affected countries should prioritize protection of human rights, particularly the genocide victims and promotion of the rule of law. This recent ban punishes the victims of worse crises -war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, rather than holding perpetrators accountable. In the face of genocide and collapsing aid infrastructure, the U.S. should be offering asylum to protect the vulnerable, a value upheld by American people and the government for more than a century, not raising its barriers.
Coupled with recent cuts to humanitarian aid, this policy leaves Sudanese refugees with nowhere to turn. Aid groups have been forced to scale back or suspend services. Schools have closed, food distribution has slowed, and medical services have been targeted. All while the international community looks away.
Do not allow this day to be a hollow “commemoration” of the plight of Sudanese refugees and
refugees across the globe. Use today as a call to action. As this refugee crisis intensifies, we issue this urgent call to the global community: act now. Intervention is necessary now more than ever. Please take the time today to spread the news about Sudanese refugees.
We call on DWAG supporters to:
- Join our Stand With Sudan campaign (add link here)
- Share our messages on social media to spread awareness (add link here)
We call on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the African Union, the United States, and the larger international community to take the following steps to end the suffering and save lives in Sudan:
- The United States government must immediately rescind the travel ban on Sudan and expand protections for Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees.
- Swiftly authorize and deploy civilian protection forces to protect the innocent Sudanese people, particularly in Darfur;
- Impose criminal and financial accountability for all individuals and states complicit in committing past and present genocide and war crimes in Sudan;
- Demand that the warring parties immediately cease all attacks and strictly adhere to a permanent, verifiable ceasefire;
- Authorize urgent and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid for all in need across Sudan;
- Press the warring parties to stop the torture, murder, rape, and starvation of civilians as a strategy of war;
- U.S., UNSC, and allies must hold the regional and international enablers supplying weapons to the warring parties in Sudan accountable;
- US and allies must cease the selling of arms to the UAE and prevent genocide in Sudan.
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