UN says Sudan resource trade is helping sustain war

The United Nations human rights office said Wednesday that Sudan's rival factions are profiting from control over the country's resources and that a war economy is helping sustain the civil war.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the warring sides rely on control of territory, trade routes and commodities to help pay for rising military costs. It said this has contributed to a conflict that has become increasingly self-perpetuating.

The war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023. Some estimates put the death toll at 200,000, and more than 11 million people have been displaced. Several parts of Sudan have been pushed into hunger and famine.

OHCHR called on both sides, and on corporations involved in collecting and selling Sudanese commodities, to comply with international law. UN rights chief Volker Turk said Sudan's natural resources should benefit its people, but were instead helping undermine human rights and drive conflict. He said the war economy must be disrupted and that the international community should pay closer attention to the commodities and trade routes that keep it going.

The UN report focused on gum arabic, an ingredient used in products including soft drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Before the war, Sudan accounted for 70 to 80 percent of global crude gum arabic exports. The trade is modest in export value compared with some other commodities, but it is an important income source for millions of Sudanese people and remains one of the country's most internationally relied-upon exports.

The report said many people who depend on the gum arabic trade have faced looting, extortion, arbitrary detention and threats, especially from the parties to the conflict and their allies. It said that in May 2025, the Gum Arabic Exchange, its warehouses and part of the local market in El-Nuhud in West Kordofan state were reportedly looted by the RSF when stocks were full and ready for export, severely disrupting local trade and livelihoods.

OHCHR said Sudan's gum arabic trade has been reshaped by the country's fragmentation since the war began. Gum arabic from areas held by the armed forces is sent toward Port Sudan for export, while significant quantities from RSF-controlled areas have been redirected to neighbouring countries through cross-border smuggling routes. The report said this gum arabic may then be processed and traded as locally produced, making its origin hard to verify.

Turk urged countries and companies linked to trade in Sudanese commodities, including gum arabic, to ensure their business is not fuelling the conflict or damaging human rights. He called for stronger accountability, traceability and regulatory oversight, and said companies cannot carry on as usual when sourcing from conflict-affected supply chains.