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UN flags war economy
A UN human rights report warned that Sudan’s war economy is helping sustain the country’s three-year conflict and exposing global supply chains to serious human rights risks, as warring parties increasingly rely on controlling territory, trade routes and commodities to finance military operations.
“The rival factions in Sudan are profiting from control of the country's resources, and the 'war economy' is fueling the conflict, the UN said on Wednesday”
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said, "This war economy must be disrupted, and the international community must pay much closer attention to the commodities and trade routes that help keep it alive," framing the report’s call for tighter traceability, regulatory oversight and scrutiny of routes, intermediaries and documentation.
The report examined gum arabic as a case study, saying that before the war Sudan accounted for roughly 70-80% of global crude gum arabic exports.
It said gum arabic from areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces has moved toward Port Sudan, while significant quantities from areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces have been redirected through cross-border smuggling routes.
The UN said people linked to the trade have faced threats, arbitrary detention, looting and extortion, and warned that "Companies cannot continue business as usual when sourcing from conflict-affected value chains".
Gum arabic, looting, detention
The OHCHR report described how armed groups have increasingly relied on controlling territory, trade routes and valuable commodities to finance military operations, contributing to what it called an "increasingly self-perpetuating" conflict.
Volker Türk urged all parties to the war, along with governments and companies involved in the Sudanese gum arabic trade, to ensure their activities comply with international law and do not contribute to the conflict, saying, "Sudan’s vast wealth of natural resources should benefit its people."
The report focused on gum arabic’s human rights consequences, saying many people involved in the trade have faced threats to their safety, arbitrary detention, looting and extortion.
It cited reported looting by the Rapid Support Forces of the Gum Arabic Exchange, its warehouses and parts of the wider market in El Nahud, West Kordofan, in May 2025, when warehouses were full and stocks were ready for export.
The UN warned that gum arabic may enter customs or commercial export channels and, in some cases, be processed, documented or traded as though it originated elsewhere, making its true source difficult to verify.
Sanctions and due diligence
As the UN warned that the war economy is sustaining conflict, Britain on July 16 announced sanctions targeting what it called "illicit" networks in the gold trade that support rival factions in Sudan’s civil war.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the Sudanese gold trade is worth several billions of dollars and finances "the acquisition of weapons and the activities of armed groups," while the sanctions targeted 11 individuals and companies suspected of links to networks that finance and support the Rapid Support Forces and the regular army.
The sanctions’ targets were described as trading internationally, "notably gold markets in Dubai and Hong Kong," and included Abu Dharr, accused of financing the RSF through "a network of real estate companies, war gold, and Dubai-based holding companies."
In parallel, the UN report urged companies sourcing Sudanese commodities to strengthen human rights due diligence and called for stronger traceability, regulatory oversight and scrutiny of routes, intermediaries, documentation and possible relabeling.
The report’s warning that "Companies cannot continue business as usual when sourcing from conflict-affected value chains" tied the gum arabic case study to a broader demand that trade not fuel the conflict.
