So families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. Comcast supports cspan as a public service, along with these other television providers. Give your front row seat to democracy. Officials from the state department and usaid testified about the ongoing conflict in sudan. They discussed diplomatic efforts to encourage peace, talks humanitarian aid and the evacuation of american citizens. Members of the Senate ForeignRelations Committee also questioned the witnesses about the conflicts impact on surrounding countries such as ethiopia and egypt. This is about 90 minutes. Hearing of the Senate ForeignRelations Committee will come to order. Since fighting erupted in sudan almost a month, ago ceasefires of demigod with no appreciable reduction in fighting. Alice has left the area in the capital thick with dust and smoke, food and water shortages have resulted in looting and attacks on citizens by armed groups in search of provisions. The former strongman head of state who is wanted by the International Criminal court for crimes against humanity as escaped from prison. The borders are overwhelmed with people trying to escape. Hundreds have been, killed thousands injured and hundreds of thousands displaced. One american doctor is staying to treat the wounded and a surrounded by a group of men and stabbed to death in front of his family. Sudan is not only descending into violent chaos, it is on the brink of a full zerosum civil war. And of the last civil war went on for more than two decades. I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today to discuss how we respond to the conflict in sudan. I welcome the long overdue executive order issued last week, with respect to sedan. We are all grateful to those who plan to carry out the nighttime rescue operations to evacuate more than 70 people working at our embassy, including ambassador godfreyd. Thankfully, all u. S. Government personnel escaped unharmed. As the private american citizens were left to fend for themselves on the violence broke out. To say nothing of millions of sudanese who now understandably feel abandoned by the International Community. I want to sit here and put the blame on the state department or the administration for a Foreign Policy failure that has been and years in the making. Failed negotiations on the transition to democracy were supported not only by us but by the African Union, 12 states in the United Nations. Numerous attempts to broker a ceasefire failed and the International Community and yet met a robust humanitarian response. Lets be, clear u. S. Policy fell short of the challenge. We refused to call a coup a coup after the sudanese military takeover in 2021. Instead of imposing sanctions, we put the democratic aspirations of millions of sudanese in the hands of generals despite evidence of their complicity and responsibility for gross violations of human rights and a significant public corruption. The citys armed forces have a long record of human rights abuses. And the Rapid Support forces best known to the world as that ginger wed committed genocide in darfur. The leader has been implicated and and massacres and has allied himself with the wagner group. They telling us selves that this would help them transition to a democracy, we neglected the need for democracy. They didnt push hard enough for those with guns the city needs aspirations. I would like to hear from our witnesses about u. S. Policy options to end the conflict. To rally the community and jumpstart humanitarian assistance. What steps the administration is taking to garner support for collective action to make sure that military leaders stand down and step aside. I realize that sometimes theres no good options but hope is not a Foreign Policy strategy. We need to understand how our analysis was so flawed that Estate Department failed to stem its staff or american citizens to depart before the violence began. The United States cannot be blindsided by this, i want to know what is being done to prevent this in the future. I realize that if the views of some ends up being the reality, our ability to prepare for what were seeing in today and will be dramatically affected because of the potential cuts that are being talked about in discretionary domestic spending. We think we do is discretionary spending. I dont know how are going to get it better with less. Undersecretary nuland, and like to hear about our short, medium and long term goals in sudan in the horn of africa. So as the strategy for achieving done at weve no diplomatic presence on the ground accident. Mr. , charles convict the emerging humanitarian, catastrophe we need to plan to deliver assistance as quickly as possible to the people of sudan to empower Civil Society, forces have vacating against all odds at great personal cost for democracy. Millions of lives incident in the horn of africa are at stake, as are our strategic interest in the horn of africa into the red sea quarter. We need to put the democratic transition back on track in sudan. , with that let me turn to the Ranking Member, senator risch chris opening statement. Thank, you mister chairman. That would continue, remarks i think you are a little kinder than im going to be even in the last we have the situation. This is not a happy occasion, its disappointing were here today having this hearing. Humanitarian and security catastrophe playing incident was predictable. This committee has tried to ensure student had the highest levels of protection from the state department. Sadly, that hasnt happened. I concur with the chairman that this is not an easy situation. Its no question that things are difficult there we dont have the luxury of dealing with the easy ones. Nor should have been done to protect the sudanese people from the military. We shouldve done more to warn american citizens and diplomatic footprint to respond to the scenario that we all saw unfold. Weve seen this movie before. Incident faces a potentially catastrophic civil war, state collapse like those weve seen in syria and olivia, urgent leadership by the United States and its allies is required. Certainly the state department is on the frontline of this. No one should be surprised at those involved in the beshears teams genocide 20 years ago refused to relinquish power. The United States continues to partner with the same authoritarian actors in the region that bargained away students democratic future in order to secure their own interests. Even now, when we hope great efforts and saudi arabia healed real humanitarian ceasefire. We must all be very honest with ourselves about the motivation of some of our regional actors. The four years since they removed Omar Albashir from power, and of hope towards corrupt military leaders on their foreign backers has affected u. S. Foreign policy incident. This approach has empowered surgeons strongman well victimizing the sudanese people and undermining the countrys democratic future. The biden ministration has sanctioned only one sudanese entity under global mick nipsey. President biden issued the order last week, no initiations with the announcement. Very disappointing. The u. S. Is also now put its best diplomatic before to deal with the problem. We did not name and ambassadors to sudan for more than two years after normalizing relations during a critical time incidents transition. U. S. Embassy in khartoum has also faced precedent understaffing and leadership challenges. Congress has booked in a bipartisan manner with an unmistakable voice on student through at the post beshear transition. But the sudanese people first it and the stranglehold of speed and Security Forces on the country. This administration, however doesnt seem to be listening. During her last sudan hearing 15 months, ago i called to the administration to articulate a clear vision for what it once in sudan. Im still waiting. The Administration Must change not only the architecture but also the architects of this policy. We need a policy that empowers the sudanese people. We can cisgender, cuts off the foreign meddling and empowers them. And with the coalition towards putting incidents democratic future first. From us and the cycle of doing the same thing and expect again different outcome. I look for to hearing from our Witnesses Today just as the chairman indicated that how the administration plans to meet immediate needs in sudan and make an urgent course correction in its suit and policy. Before i close, have your best and i want to express my deep disappointment for your failure to respond to my many of my colleagues questions for the record in a timely manner. When we last testified before this committee, it was january 26th. , then after that hearing, as usual, questions for the record were submitted because we have limited time in the hearing. That was over 100 days ago. I received answers to those questions for the record. Do you know when . The delay in responding to these questions underscores serious doubts in my mind that the state department puts any value on communication with congress and holds no respect for this committees oversight rule. Some of the questions i submitted to you were about sudan. Now, we get an answer over 100 days later and the day before the next hearing on the subject, i really feel bad at this demonstrates that the department is just going through the motions to mullah faye this committee and keeping us in the dark. A specter if meaningful explanation of why these questions for the record took over 100 days to complete. Thank you. Thank you very much, senator. Their Witnesses Today are ambassador victoria nuland, miss sarah charles, from usaid experience. Nuland its a 33 year career as a, diplomat rejoining the department as undersecretary for Political Affairs in april of 2021. I want to go through all of that history, plus a face to say its an incredible career. Sir charles assisted to be administrator of usaid and in charge of the bureau for humanitarian affairs. This government lead for International Visitors bonds. Before joining the bureau, she was in your policy director for advocacy at the International Rescue committee and has worked with the National Security council as director of humanitarian affairs. We thank you both for your participation and your service to the country. I would ask you to summarize your put statements in about five, minutes full statements will be included in the record. Without objection, ambassador nuland, well start with you. Thank, you chairman menendez, Ranking Member risch, distinguished members of this committee. We appreciate the opportunity to be with you and exchange views on such a consequential moment for sudan, the Third Largest nation on the african continent. Sudan holds enormous promise an opportunity. It should be a thriving bread basket for its people, the region and the world. Instead, it has been plagued, as you both noted, by decades of authoritarianism, economic turmoil and a civil war. In 20, 19 decision needs people longing for a different future led a peaceful protest movement that ended the 30year reign of a dictator. Only to endure a military takeover two years later. I engagements since have focused on restoring the promise of restoring that 2019 revolution and supporting it civilianled transition to democracy and civilian rule. We worked over the past 18 months for civilian partners in sudan to build a coalition to lead this effort while simultaneously putting pressure on students generals to engage seriously in a political process. Despite the greatest effort by sudanese civilian leaders and intensive engagement by International Actors which did yield considerable progress since last fall on elements of their own a framework for a political agreement, those negotiations, as you know, broke down over the unwillingness of the two military leaders to resolve the last issue, which stayed in the way of a return to democracy. Namely and the Rapid Support forces and the Sudanese Armed forces would integrate a unified command structure. Eiffel 15th, we saw months of progress a raised overnight. You see the images, 100 in pillaging, looting, Armed Conflict across the city. Food, water, medicine, electricity, telecommute off. Hundreds of thousands of families displaced or fleeing their home. Their priority, as you noted, whats the safety of our people. Over seven days, we consolidated all u. S. Personnel at the Embassy Compound where our military then bravely extracted them via helicopter on april 23rd to ethiopia and onward to djibouti. Then, with the help of partners, british, french and saudis, we organize three overlap convoys from khartoum to port sudan, transporting more than 700 people and hundreds of our own people also boarded allied and partnered flights. In total, we facilitated the departure of 2000 people, including 1300 u. S. Citizens and family members along with u. S. Lpr, locally employed staff and nationals from other allied and partnered countries. From the as, we have also worked to silence the guns. Secretary, blinken assistant secretary molly ce, our ambassador to sedan, then he got freed and teams across the department have been tirelessly engaged, first to secretary blinkens intense personal effort. We secured six sequential short term ceasefires, which have lessened the findings and allow these evacuations in some initial movement of humanitarian aid. And then working intensively with saudi arabia and other partners we began on sunday these pre negotiations with the warring parties. To date, the secretary is made seven separate calls to general burr hahn and hemeti to try to silence the guns, jumpstart diplomacy and get talks going. He has also been in touch with African Union chair person sake and leaders across the region in europe. As you know, for the last three days, starting on sunday evening, assistant secretary see and it lead the u. S. Delegation to these emergency prenegotiations that began in jeddah. Her goals for these talks have been very narrowly focused. First, securing agreement on a declaration of humanitarian principles. And then getting a ceasefire that is long enough to facilitate this steady delivery of badly needed services. The stage is successful, and i try to negotiate is this morning where clump cautiously optimistic, who had been enable expanded talks with local, Regional International stakeholders towards a permanent cessation of hostilities. And and a return to civilianled rule as the sudanese people have demanded for years. We do our prayers continue to make clear to the warring parties led by these two generals that they could be no military solution to this crisis. Negotiations are the only way forward. Weve also made clear, as you said, chairman, to president bidens may 4th executive order to authorize future sanctions. Be responsible for holding students future to account. In opportunities reinforce a consistent message from the rest of the world is watching, the fighting has to step it will hold those responsible to account. Meanwhile, we appreciate saudi arabias role hosting these talks and will continue to work with our regional partners on. The sudan quad that includes the uk. To bring this conflict to the end. Mister chairman, if i could, mr. Ranking member, in this context, thank you for passing heard ambassador designate Stephanie Sullivan for the African Union to this committee and our support and help getting her confirmed on the fall floor. Despite the many, setbacks we will continue to stand with the sudanese people and their demands for a peaceful and democratic future. They deserve better, i think you, look forward to listening to your questions. Making gibberish, you are absolutely right, this question should not have taken 100 days. Its on, me it will not happen again. I apologize. Miss charles . Truman menendez, Ranking Member risch, distinguished chairman menendez, Ranking Member risch, distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today about the unfolding military crisis in sudan the u. S. Governments response. Its been less than one month since the hostilities between the Sudanese Armed forces in the Rapid Support forces erupted. But the impact on the people of sudan has already been devastating. Ongoing violence has led to the death of hundreds of injuries to that sense destruction of Critical Infrastructure and disruption basic services. Tax against humanitarian staff in the leading of humanitarian assets for so many of our partners to temporarily suspend hundreds of lifesaving programs and relocate their staff, impacting millions of people who relied on these programs to meet basic needs. Before the, conflict almost 60 Million People in sudan, more than one third of the population, required communiter in assistance. We do not yet know the full extent to which humanitarian conditions have worsened since april 15th, but there are early reports that are grim. An estimated 70 of hospitals across conflict affected areas are not operational. With 3 million women and girls at risk of gender based violence. With the 19 Million People in our latest analysis could be food insecure in the next three months of fighting continues. The 700,000 people have been internally displaced more than 120,000 people have cros