Booker, Lee, Jacobs Joint Statement on Trip to Chad

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, and Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA), ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, and Sara Jacobs (D-CA), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following joint statement after returning from Chad, where they had meetings in N’Djamena with the Transitional Military Council (CMT) President Mahamat Deby, members of Chadian civil society, and representatives from UN agencies focused on humanitarian assistance. The delegation also traveled to eastern Chad to meet with refugees crossing the Chad-Sudan border. Senator Booker and Representatives Lee and Jacobs are the first members of Congress to visit Sudanese refugees at the border since the start of the war in Sudan last year.

“In eastern Chad, we heard from Sudanese refugees who have faced extraordinary violence and trauma. More recent refugees are no longer only fleeing from violence, they are now also leaving Sudan in search of food. We saw firsthand the critical and life-saving work supported by U.S. assistance and UN agencies on the ground, but it is very clear that the existing resources are not enough. We call on the RSF and SAF to immediately stop the fighting and allow access to humanitarian assistance throughout Sudan. We also urge the international community, including the U.S. government, to provide significantly more aid to help meet the basic survival needs of refugees that will alleviate the preventable suffering taking place. We thank Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello for joining us and for his urgent work to end the conflict, support the Sudanese people in working towards a civilian government and bring more assistance to the humanitarian crisis within Sudan and neighboring countries like Chad.

“We call for a swift end to the conflict in Sudan, including stopping the flow of weapons that have fueled the war and created a dire humanitarian crisis. We appreciate the Chadian government and people for their efforts to host and support refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan. We also stress the importance of the Transitional Military Council respecting human rights, including pursuing accountability for Black Thursday in 2022, and transparent, inclusive, and credible elections and transition to democracy in Chad.”