D047 Response to the crisis in Sudan and support for the Episcopal Church of Sudan

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,

That the General Convention Lament the overthrow of the civilian transitional government of Sudan in October 2021, and the subsequent April 2023 outbreak of devastating civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force militia, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of people, the displacement of nearly nine million people, the breakdown of civil society, collapse of the medical system, disruption of the banking system, extensive damage to industrial, agricultural and other infrastructure, including the oil facilities vital to the economies of both Sudan and South Sudan, and the impending onset of famine threatening even more people, with over 18 million reportedly acutely food insecure; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention salute the courageous work of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS), led by its Archbishop, the Most Rev. Ezekiel Kondo, its clergy, and its lay people in continuing to preach the Gospel and to provide tangible relief to the people of Sudan in these dire circumstances; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request that our Presiding Bishop send greetings on behalf of The Episcopal Church (TEC) to Archbishop Kondo, with assurances of our continued prayer for ECS, its clergy, and people, and our continued efforts to provide tangible relief and advocacy for peace on their behalf; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention authorize TEC’s Office of Government Relations to advocate appropriate United States Government and International efforts to bring about a cease-fire and a negotiated peace resulting in the restoration of democratically elected government for Sudan, efforts including but not limited to:

  1. High level diplomatic engagement (a) to persuade countries supporting the combatants with arms, equipment, and funds to stop doing so, and (b) to mobilize the funds and equipment from many countries needed to relieve the impending famine, to restore medical care, and to reconstruct Sudan;
  2. Imposition of a comprehensive United Nations arms embargo to cut off the flow of military equipment into Sudan and the hands of the combatants;
  3. Application of appropriate U.S. and international sanctions (including secondary sanctions on parties in third countries) and export controls to discourage private parties from financing and from providing the combatants with the means to continue the conflict;
  4. As appropriate, the deployment of peacekeeping forces under the auspices of the United Nations to help stabilize the situation and separate the armed combatants from each other

And be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention ask the Presiding Bishop to:

  1. designate a season of prayer later this year by our congregations, clergy and people for peace in Sudan;
  2. encourage donations to Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) and the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudans (AFRECS) to aid in this effort

And be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention direct the Secretary of General Convention to dispatch a copy of this Resolution to the Honorable Thomas Perriello, the United States Special Envoy for Sudan, and to the Honorable Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State.

Explanation

Since 1994, General Convention has adopted nine resolutions addressing warfare, famine, and religious persecution in Sudan and South Sudan.  Resolutions 2018-D024, 2018-D002, 2015-B018, 2012-A019, 2009-A033, 2009-A031, 2009-D007, 2000-A130, 1994-D012. A number of U.S. dioceses established companion relationships with dioceses in Sudan and South Sudan and many U.S. churches, clergy, and people worked hard to address the suffering there and to partner with churhces in Sudan and South Sudan in advocating for peace. 

With the division of Sudan in 2011 into Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan, the Episcopal Church of Sudan has split into two provinces of Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.  There are now several million Episcopalians in these two provinces, more than are in The Episcopal Church in the United States. 

With the onset of the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia, the ECS compound at All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum had to be evacuated, so that Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo is now leading the ECS and its relief efforts from Port Sudan.  In April 2024, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo, recently outlined the dire humanitarian situation in Sudan in a statement on the Anglican Communion website. 

https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2024/04/anglican-communion-secretary-general-makes-statement-on-humanitarian-crisis-in-sudan.aspx

The situation has grown worse since then.  Widespread atrocities are occurring in Darfur and more are likely at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces.  Both sides have committed serious human rights violations and are denying access to humanitarian aid.

The response of the international community has been half-hearted; only 12% of the UN request for food relief has been funded. More than a third of the population face food insecurity and UN figures in May show that over five million are very close to starvation in Darfur and Kordufan (the Nuba Mountains) and elsewhere.  Sudan was formerly known as the breadbasket of Africa; it is now the location of the largest current displacement of people in the world.  

The Episcopal Church has repeatedly worked with the Episcopal Church of Sudan during the past thirty years to mobilize publiic opinion, prayer, and tangible help to assist the church there in times of turmoil in preaching the Gospel in word and deed.  The current situation calls us to renew our efforts to help our friends and fellow laborers in the Gospel. Now is the time when we must show up for our friends in the name of Jesus, and show them that they are not forgotten.

 

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