United to End Genocide’s Daniel Sullivan and Shannon Orcutt returned this month from a two-week trip to East Africa to learn more about the affects of recent violence in Sudan. The two traveled first to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to meet with civil society leaders from Sudan and South Sudan. Next, they spent time in South Sudan where they met with refugees from the crises in Southern Kordofan—a region of Sudan recently attacked by government forces.

1. You both just returned from Yida Camp in South Sudan. Tell us—what’s the humanitarian situation like there right now?

Daniel Sullivan, Director of Policy and Government Relations: There are more than 28,000 refugees in Yida Camp right now that have been displaced from Sudan because of the government’s attacks. Of those, 74 percent are under the age of 18 and over 3,000 kids are in the camp without parents. Overall, some 185,000 people from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile have come into South Sudan and Ethiopia, and that doesn’t count all the internally displaced people in South Sudan and Blue Nile. By March, the conditions [in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile] will be at the level just below famine and 500,000 people will be severely affected. When we were in Addis, we were meeting with civil society leaders from Sudan, including international monitors who have been in Sudan who say that by March most families will run out of food.

2. How is the violence in these areas affecting United to End Genocide’s priorities in Sudan?

Shannon Orcutt, Policy Associate: The top priority is securing international humanitarian access to Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Bashir cannot be permitted to use food as a weapon against innocent people. We’re calling on the U.S. government to work with regional actors, and other allies, to do everything in its power to ensure that civilians do not starve. .

3. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, raised the alarm earlier this month that returnees from the north to South Sudan could present the next humanitarian crisis.

Daniel: You already see in Yida camp the strain on resources that an influx of 28,000 refugees has brought to a local population that had been only around 300-600. Beyond the refugees fleeing violence in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, there is also a growing number of people moving from other parts of Sudan to South Sudan, particularly as an April deadline approaches for Sudanese of Southern origin to register or leave the country.

4. United to End Genocide became the largest U.S. activist organization dedicated to preventing and ending genocide and mass atrocities worldwide, following the merger of the Save Darfur Coalition and Genocide Intervention Network in 2011. What should activists expect this year?

Shannon: United to End Genocide’s work centers on three pillars: grassroots organizing, corporate accountability, and building international networks. To expand our grassroots organizing, we’re building a leadership network based in 30 cities across the United States. We will continue to work with the investment and finance community to target economic enablers of genocide and mass atrocities and are excited about the role activists can play in this effort as well. We’re also working to build an international network of activists and champions in governments across the globe. Sudan will continue to be a focus of these efforts, but we’re committed to taking action on genocide and mass atrocities wherever they happen—such as Syria, Burma, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

5. What can people in the United States do to help the situation in Sudan right now? 

Daniel: Tell the U.S. government, Congress, and President Obama, that they have a responsibility to act in the face of the atrocities in Sudan. Right now, the United States must do everything in its power to stop Sudan’s campaign of violence and starvation against innocent men, women and children.

UEG will host a day of action on March 16^th to bring attention to the situation and urge the U.S. government to act. Stay tuned to the United to End Genocide blog for details.

Shannon: There’s also going to be an opportunity to reach out to your members of Congress on important legislation in the next coming weeks, so stay tuned for that as well.

Follow Daniel Sullivan on Twitter at @EndGenocideDan and Shannon Orcutt at @Shannon_O. Photo of Dan and Shannon in South Sudan courtesy United to End Genocide.