On 27 August 2024, a United Nations Security Council committee announced it was considering sanctions against two Sudanese generals of the Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F.). Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed and Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla would be the first to be sanctioned over the current war in Sudan, which has displaced millions of people. According to Reuters, 10 million people have fled their homes and 25 million internally displaced people need humanitarian aid. Groups fighting in North Darfur, including the R.S.F., are accused of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to refugee camps in the region. The World Food Programme declared famine in various camps in the region, but the Sudanese government has denied the famine. Aid organizations stopped supplying the camps with aid after the current war broke out, and what little food and water could be transported is too expensive for those in the camps to afford. The 15 members of the Sudan sanctions committee can block the proposal, ask for more time to consider it or let it pass. If the proposal were to reach a consensus in the committee, the two men would be sanctioned. 

“Urgent action is vital to avert even more death and suffering. This brutal war must end. Humanitarians must have access to deliver lifesaving aid. International donors need to step up their support to address the persistent underfunding of this and other humanitarian crises. It is crucial to stand in solidarity with individuals and communities in need,” said Mamadou Dian Balde, the United Nations Refugee Agency Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region. 

Many of the internally displaced persons in the camps in North Darfur have been there since the Darfur Crisis of the early 2000s. They’ve been unable to return due to constant violence from militias and armed groups in the region. The flow of humanitarian aid into the refugee camps must start again quickly to prevent the famine from worsening and costing more lives. The Sudanese government needs to ensure humanitarian aid enters the region and reaches those who need it most. This proposal must be passed to discourage other actors in the region from blocking aid and harming civilians. However, sanctions may not be enough to deter actors in the region from continuing their human rights violations. The international community has to find other ways to deter these abuses, potentially by approving a mission to deliver aid to those in the camps. This course of action should be considered by the Security Council to address the situation in Sudan adequately.