Today, House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ) praised the Trump Administration’s decision to impose sanctions on the Government of Sudan for violations of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991.

“There will never be peace in Sudan until there is accountability. The use of chemical weapons is not warfare, it’s savagery. The world must respond with strength, not silence, and I applaud this Administration for taking steps to hold the Sudanese government accountable for the blood on its hands,” said Rep. Smith. 

The United States determined last month that Sudan was in violation of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) when the Government of Sudan used chemical weapons in 2024. The determination was delivered to Congress on Thursday, along with an addendum to its April 15, 2025, Report on Compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The State Department’s action places restrictions on U.S. exports to Sudan and on access to U.S. government lines of credit.  Sanctions are to take effect upon publication of a notice in the Federal Register, expected to be in early June.

Smith was a cosponsor of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, HR 3409. HR 3409 was added as Title III to another bill—the Andean Trade Preference Act—and became law.

In the May 22 announcement, the State Department called on the Government of Sudan “to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the CWC.”

Smith has been a leading voice in Congress on Sudan for nearly three decades. He traveled to Darfur and met with Sudanese officials in 2005. He witnessed the humanitarian efforts firsthand at refugee camps and was also a leader in pushing for the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006, which declared the atrocities in Darfur a genocide and imposed sanctions on Sudanese officials. 

This week, only hours before the State Department’s announcement, Smith continued his human rights work on Sudan, chairing a hearing on May 22^nd, entitled “A Dire Crisis in Sudan: A Global Call to Action,” where he condemned the ongoing violence and advocated for international pressure on Sudan’s military leaders on both sides of this conflict to end the atrocities and face justice. Click here to read Chairman Smith’s opening remarks.

“Over 18,000 civilian deaths have been committed since 2023, with estimates as high as 150,000, and more than 10 million people displaced,” Smith said at the hearing. “These are not just numerical estimates but are evidence of an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes. Each murdered or displaced civilian is a person, a person whose life has been taken or irrevocably changed by these atrocities.

“Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are guilty of arbitrary killings, detentions, abductions, rapes including the rape of children, repression of fundamental human rights, illicit gold mining, and child soldier recruitment.,” said the senior foreign affairs lawmaker.  “This conflict needs to end, and we need a pathway toward sustainable peace.”

Chairman Smith’s hearing featured Sudan experts testifying to the alarming nature of the conflict: Mr. Ken Isaacs, Vice President of Samaritan’s Purse; Mr. Cameron Hudson, Senior Fellow, Africa Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Ms. Kholood Khair, Director of Confluence Advisory.

“Is Sudan in a crisis? Sudan is near collapse on all levels: political, security, economic, social, humanitarian, health, food security and infrastructure,” said Isaacs. “The level of human suffering is horrible. … Why should America be involved in Sudan? Sudan is strategically located on the Red Sea.”  Isaacs also said “Sudan is an extremely mineral rich nation with large petroleum and gold reserves, not to mention fertile ground, plenty of water, and abundant sunshine. There will be stiff global competition for access to Sudan’s resources and location.”

Hudson told the congressional panel that, “the ongoing crisis in Sudan is indeed dire and is worsening by the day.” He said no corner of the country is safe for civilians, and battlelines shift by the hour and no current civilian leaders have emerged with sufficient influence to govern a new transition. The regional parties are supporting the two warring sides to advance their own political, economic and strategic ambitions, he said, and an influential third party is needed to foster prospects for peace. “There is no single country better placed to do this than the United States,” Hudson said.

Khair testified that Sudan today is the world’s worst humanitarian, hunger and displacement crisis, and that “Out of desperation many are now making impossible choices of favoring one belligerent party over another to stay alive. All the while, the four horsemen of the apocalypse: War, Death, Disease, and Conquest are visiting upon Sudan’s people.” She also noted that the US has been the largest humanitarian donor for Sudan and “the generosity of the American people has quite literally kept people – and hope –alive in Sudan.”   

The hearing can be viewed at the House Foreign Affair Committee’s website here.

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