Why It Matters

A bipartisan Senate bill would expand U.S. sanctions, diplomatic efforts, and financial restrictions aimed at pressuring the warring parties and their foreign backers to end Sudan's civil war.

The S.4726 PEACE Sudan Act aims to help end the ongoing civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) by directing U.S. diplomatic and economic tools toward securing a durable ceasefire and establishing clearer accountability for atrocities committed during the fighting.

The bill would authorize the President to impose sanctions, including asset freezes and visa restrictions, on foreign individuals or entities responsible for or complicit in actions threatening Sudan's peace, security, or stability. Potential sanctions targets include those providing arms or material support to armed groups, committing atrocities, obstructing humanitarian assistance, or trafficking natural resources connected to Sudan's war economy.

The legislation also includes safeguards for humanitarian activities and would restrict certain U.S. assistance to the government of Sudan while directing U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to oppose certain loans and long-term development or reconstruction assistance. Exceptions would preserve lifesaving humanitarian assistance addressing basic human needs.

The bill would extend the authorization for the U.S. special envoy for Sudan from two years to five years and require assessments of international sanctions enforcement and the U.N. arms embargo. It would also require reports on foreign support for the conflict, atrocities, and financial assets connected to Sudanese armed actors beginning 90 to 180 days after enactment, with several reporting requirements continuing semiannually or annually.

The Big Picture

Introduced June 9 by Sen. James Risch (R-ID), with Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) as original cosponsors, the bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) later joined as a cosponsor.

The committee favorably reported S.4726 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute during a June 17 business meeting. The committee formally reported the amended bill on July 27 without a written report and placed it on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders as Calendar No. 519.

The broader context is a war that began in April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF, described by the UN as the world's largest displacement crisis. Nearly 34 million people require humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations, while continued fighting has displaced millions inside Sudan and across its borders.

U.S. policymakers have also focused on outside governments, commercial networks, militias and illicit resource flows that help sustain the conflict. The bill would require the State Department to update its Sudan Business Risk Advisory with information about the gold and gum arabic supply chains, including their connections to armed groups and Sudan's war economy.

In its April 2026 statement, the State Department called for an immediate three-month humanitarian truce and said there is no military solution to the conflict. The bill has not passed the Senate, and the House has taken no action.

Partisan Perspectives

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has framed the legislation as a bipartisan effort to increase pressure on perpetrators and outside actors sustaining Sudan's war while strengthening diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Risch said the legislation would provide the administration with additional tools to raise the costs of the war for the SAF, RSF, and their proxies. Coons emphasized diplomacy, saying the conflict would ultimately require a negotiated solution.

Shaheen described the measure as providing additional tools to hold perpetrators and their supporters accountable while strengthening negotiations. Cornyn highlighted provisions targeting weapons suppliers and requiring a State Department strategy to secure a ceasefire.

The Bottom Line

The measure would increase U.S. leverage over Sudan's war by combining diplomacy, sanctions, reporting requirements, humanitarian safeguards, restrictions on certain assistance, and greater scrutiny of foreign actors and commercial networks sustaining the conflict.

Several requirements covering foreign involvement, atrocities, U.S. strategy, international financial assistance, foreign assistance, and financial assets would terminate 30 days after the Secretary of State certifies that a credible and durable peace agreement, cessation of hostilities, or other end to the fighting has been achieved and that the RSF, SAF, and relevant Sudanese government institutions are no longer committing atrocities.

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