CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

99

Introduced by Assembly Member Jackson

December 2, 2024

Relative to the Sudan conflict.

Fiscal committee: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

This measure would declare the conflict in Sudan an international crisis and would call upon the Trump Administration and the international community to take greater action and bring aid to the people of Sudan.

WHEREAS, War erupted in April 2023 due to a power struggle between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), halting the country’s planned transition to civilian rule; and

WHEREAS, The conflict has led to thousands of civilian deaths, with widespread reports of atrocities, including mass rapes and ethnically driven violence; and

WHEREAS, More than 25,000,000 people, one-half of Sudan’s population, need humanitarian aid, with famine already reported in displacement camps; and

WHEREAS, More than 14,000,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis, with nearly 3,000,000 seeking refuge in neighboring countries; and

WHEREAS, The RSF has been implicated in systematic ethnic violence, including the recent massacre in El Gezira, where at least 124 civilians were killed; and

WHEREAS, The RSF has destroyed towns and villages, looting properties and vandalizing infrastructure in regions like east-central Gezira; and

WHEREAS, The RSF confiscated communication tools like Starlink devices, limiting civilians’ ability to report abuses and communicate with the outside world; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 25,600,000 people are projected to experience acute hunger, with 775,000 facing faminelike conditions in 2024; and

WHEREAS, Amid global attention on the Middle East, United Nations officials stress that the “forgotten crisis” in Sudan urgently needs increased international support; and

WHEREAS, Sudan’s government warns that the Adre border crossing from Chad is being used for arms smuggling, worsening the conflict; and

WHEREAS, Both the Sudanese military and RSF have intensified offensives, with no clear path to ceasefire or resolution; and

WHEREAS, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the situation is too volatile for a United Nations force deployment; and

WHEREAS, The conflict threatens to destabilize Africa’s Sahel and East Africa regions, creating broader international security concerns; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California declares the conflict in Sudan to be an international crisis; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California calls upon the Trump Administration and the international community to take greater action and bring aid to the people of Sudan; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Secretary of State, to the Secretary of the Treasury, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.