Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces in the East Nile locality in Sudan (Reuters - Archive)
Members of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the US Senate presented a draft resolution describing the violations of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces in Darfur as “genocide.”
The draft resolution called for supporting international criminal courts and conducting investigations to hold the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The draft resolution - which was approved by the US Senate - was presented by Idaho Senator James Risch (Republican) in his name and in the name of Ben Cardin, Senator from Maryland (Democrat), in addition to Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey (Democrat).
The document submitted by the representatives said that the Rapid Support Forces carried out “extrajudicial arrests, torture and beatings, extortion, sexual and gender-based violence, gang rape, sexual slavery, and forced displacement.”
It considered that what the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias were doing in Darfur against non-Arab ethnic communities were acts of genocide.
Previous decisions
The document called for "recognition of what the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias are doing in the Darfur region of Sudan against non-Arab ethnic communities as acts of genocide."
The document mentioned the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” as one of the leaders of the Janjaweed militia during the genocide in Darfur.
The draft resolution was based on Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted in Paris on December 9, 1948.
It also relied on previous Congressional resolutions issued on July 22, 2004, where it stated that the atrocities occurring in Darfur are classified as genocide.
The administration of President George W. Bush declared what was happening in Darfur a genocide on September 9, 2004.
Source: Al Jazeera + Sudanese press