U.S. senators propose Sudan bill seeking terrorist designations for warring sides
June 10, 2026 (WASHINGTON) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced new legislation aimed at forcing an end to the conflict in Sudan, including a mandate for the Biden administration to evaluate whether the warring factions qualify as global terrorist organizations.
The bill, titled the Preventing External Aggression and Conflict Escalation in Sudan Act of 2026, or the “PEACE in Sudan Act,” requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, to conduct a legal assessment of Sudanese armed actors. They must “determine whether any armed actor in Sudan meets the criteria for designation as a specially designated global terrorist” under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The administration must submit a classified report on its findings and outline its planned actions to the congressional Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees within 90 days of the bill’s enactment. While the draft text does not explicitly name any specific group for immediate designation, it subjects all fighting forces to scrutiny.
The legislative push builds on earlier pressure from Republican Senator Jim Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who introduced the bill. Risch has repeatedly called for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), labelling their actions in Darfur as genocide. He renewed those demands in early 2026 following the U.S. designation of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood.
An SDGT designation allows the U.S. government to freeze all property and interests under U.S. jurisdiction and block financial transactions. An FTO designation carries additional criminal penalties, making it an offense under U.S. law to provide “material support” such as funding, training, or logistics, while opening foreign entities that deal with the group to secondary sanctions.
Co-sponsored by Senators Chris Coons, John Cornyn, and Jeanne Shaheen, the bill seeks to utilize all available diplomatic and economic leverage to halt the war. It aims to dismantle networks facilitating the conflict, counter foreign military interference, and hold perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide accountable.
The legislation orders a comprehensive intelligence report, to be updated every 6 months, within 90 days, detailing foreign military, financial, and logistical support to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the RSF, and other non-state armed groups. The report must cover weapon and drone shipments, the deployment of foreign fighters, and potential violations of the United Nations arms embargo.
The bill targets Sudan’s war economy by requiring federal agencies to monitor commercial operations funding the combatants. Targeted sectors include gold mining, gum arabic production, aviation, banking, and cryptocurrency transactions. It specifically names various active forces for analysis, including the Wagner Group, the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood’s al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade, and several rebel factions.
The State Department would also be required to file regular reports on human rights violations committed since the war broke out on April 15, 2023. These reviews must document the recruitment of child soldiers, the use of starvation and sexual violence as weapons of war, attacks on healthcare facilities, and ethnically motivated violence.
Within 180 days, the executive branch must submit a strategy to secure a durable ceasefire and political settlement. This requires close coordination with international diplomatic bodies, specifically the Quad, comprising the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and the Quintet, which includes the African Union, IGAD, the Arab League, the European Union, and the United Nations.
The bill empowers the president to impose asset freezes and visa bans on any foreign national obstructing peace efforts, undermining a transition to civilian governance, or supplying weapons to the combatants.
The legislative package includes an extension of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan’s mandate to five years. It also cuts off non-humanitarian aid and instructs U.S. directors at international financial institutions to oppose debt relief or reconstruction loans for the Sudanese government until a verified peace agreement is reached and atrocities cease.