US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken He says His government determined that the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces and allied militias had committed genocide in the war against the Sudanese Armed Forces that began in April 2023.

Blinken pointed out that “638,000 Sudanese are suffering from the worst famine in Sudan’s modern history, more than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and tens of thousands of deaths” as reasons for this decision.

While Blinken was scathing in his criticism of the Rapid Support Forces and its leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, the US administration continued to defend its ally, Israel, and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, against similar accusations of genocide.

Isn’t the definition of genocide universally agreed upon?

that it.

Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide is acts intended “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Under the Convention, those acts are: killing group members; Causing serious physical or mental harm to members of the group; Intentionally imposing living conditions on the group with the aim of its physical destruction, in whole or in part; Imposing measures aimed at preventing births within the group and forcibly transferring the group’s children to another group.

But Blinken did not mention the Genocide Convention.

Why didn’t the United States use the agreement?

This is not clear.

Blinken has referred several times to the “racial” nature of what he described as the systematic killing of men and boys, including infants.

He also noted that the RSF “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other brutal forms of sexual violence,” all actions that human rights groups and international actors have accused Israel of committing on numerous occasions.

The rapes and sexual violence that Blinken cited as reasons for concluding that the RSF are committing genocide have been repeatedly documented as Weapons used by Israeli forces against Palestinians.

Didn’t the United States say that Israel is not committing genocide?

I have.

To date, many human rights groups and international actors have accused Israel of engaging in war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide, while the United States has consistently defended its ally.

In November 2024, US President Joe Biden refused to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of committing war crimes, describing them as “outrageous.”

The United States has been equally scathing about other international measures aimed at halting the Israeli attack on Gaza.

The argument that Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza has been presented to the International Court of Justice South Africa in December 2023 and Since then more than 10 other countries have joined.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby claimed in January that the issue had “absolutely no basis in fact whatsoever.”

The United States attempted to reject the findings of Amnesty International, which, in December, He said that Israel is committing genocide in Gazajoining many other human rights groups that have said the same thing.

How comprehensive is the evidence that the United States rejects?

very.

In addition 45,936 people were killed by Israel in Gaza There are many accounts for ethnic cleansinguse Starvation as a weapon of warAnd also Systematic torture and Sexual assault and rape Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces.

In October, the United States issued a 30-day “ultimatum” to Israel that it must do more to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, which was starving when Israel bombed it.

A month later, as famine approached in northern Gaza as a result of the “Israeli siege within the siege” and its continued denial of aid, Secretary Blinken chose to do nothing This is what was stated in his warning to Israel.

However, his administration acknowledged that little, if any, The conditions for an ultimatum to increase aid have been met.

What else did the United States do?

In late December, the United States went further, He was reportedly ordered to retreat This came in a report that concluded that the siege imposed by Israel on the northern Gaza Strip led to a famine that relief agencies had long warned about.

In July, Israeli authorities initially found cause to investigate 10 Israeli soldiers involved In the mass rape of Palestinian prisoners In detention.

Despite this, the United States seemed content to express its “concern” about Israel’s behaviour, using its veto power in the UN Security Council to crack down on Israel. He banned calls for a ceasefire four times And not to take any action against its ally.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced It plans to sell another $8 billion In arms for Israel.