Edward Aitken | Africa Fellow
Chadian soldiers at the Chad-Sudan border oversee the crossing of refugees fleeing the civil war in Sudan. Image sourced from Henry Wilkins and Arzouma Kompaoré (VOA) via Wikimedia Commons.
Sudan has been destroyed by a devastating civil war. On 26 October this year, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed at least 124 civilians in a village in El Gezira State. A recent report by the United Nations (UN) identified “staggering” levels of sexual violence in the conflict, and reports are emerging of mass suicides by women to avoid sexual violence. The international community has taken little action, and a calamitous and heavily politicised humanitarian response has only worsened the suffering.
There has been an inadequate response from many foreign actors with influence, but none more than the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its support of the RSF. The international community, including the backers of the UAE, is aware of this. To avoid further catastrophe in an already harrowing situation, the international community – and especially the UAE's allies – must put pressure on the UAE to cease fuelling the war.
Civil war and famine
The civil war in Sudan broke out between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023. Since then, over 11 million people have been displaced, and an estimated 60,000 to 150,000 people have been killed. 26 million people – over half the country’s population – are facing famine. Famine was officially declared in July 2024 at the Zamzam Internally Displaced Peoples Camp, which houses between 500,000 and 800,000 people in the North Darfur region. The Famine Review Committee has determined that 13 other regions are likely experiencing similar conditions.
Accusations of war crimes have been levelled against both the RSF and SAF, with both sides accused of weaponising the famine. The UAE-backed RSF, however, has also been accused of staggering levels of sexual violence, ethnic cleansing of Masalit people and ongoing massacres of civilians. Accusations of worsening the food crisis by destroying food reserves and looting limited aid supplies have also been levelled at the RSF. The international community must act with urgency to enable humanitarian aid and mitigate the famine.
Failures of international assistance
Efforts by the international community have been slow and ignorant of the realities from the outset. For example, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) failed to address findings from its own Panel of Experts on Sudan. Meanwhile, funding for humanitarian assistance has been littered with empty promises. In April 2024, the international community pledged USD$2.2 billion to address Sudan’s humanitarian crises. By October 2024, however, just 17% of the pledged funding had been delivered.
While the UAE's support of the RSF is widely known, the international community has failed to address it. The UNSC found “credible” allegations of the UAE's violation of an arms embargo on the RSF, and social media from the SAF has shown confiscated weapons bearing UAE manufacturing tags. Despite this, the UAE has repeatedly denied its involvement in the conflict and has undertaken political manoeuvring to maintain support. For example, the UAE government cancelled ministerial meetings with the United Kingdom (UK) in April 2024 after the country failed to defend allegations UAE involvement in the conflict at the UN. Only 2 months later, the UK government was accused of suppressing criticism against the UAE.
Another friend of the UAE, the United States (US), has also failed to deliver peace in Sudan. In August 2024, the US appointed the UAE as a mediator of peace talks that the SAF boycotted and designated the UAE as a second major defence partner in September 2024. The lack of concrete action from key international players permits the UAE’s interference in Sudan to continue unrestrained.
Critical action required
The international community must prioritise the urgent need for aid to enter Sudan but can only achieve this through increased pressure on the external actors fuelling the war. First and foremost, aid must reach the Sudanese people. The international community and key players like the US must deliver on commitments to avoid a further spread of famine and continued weaponisation of hunger. Any roadblocks to funding for NGOs providing assistance must be overcome.
Alleviating the crisis and stopping the flow of weapons into Sudan requires stopping the outside actors fuelling the conflict–particularly the UAE. This requires moving beyond “findings” of violations of arms embargos to actually addressing the UAE’s involvement in the conflict and using international courts to enforce action. Sanctions may also prove effective, and the US has begun taking this path by sanctioning the brother of the RSF leader who heads a weapons company based in the UAE. With arms embargos repeatedly violated, more direct sanctions may play a critical role.
It is time to move beyond empty promises to the Sudanese people and words of warning to the UAE. A unified effort to address the root causes of the conflict and to ensure the famine and suffering of the Sudanese people are alleviated has never been more urgent. The international community must act now to save the lives of millions and to stop a further geopolitical calamity.
Edward Aitken is the Africa Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Politics and Journalism) from the University of Notre Dame Fremantle. Admitted as a lawyer in 2024, he is currently working at an international commercial law firm in Melbourne.
Edward has a passion for learning about cultures and stories emanating from Africa. His engagement with the continent stemmed from travelling in Eastern and Southern Africa for six months in 2022 and 2023. He hopes to a establish a career in the continent with a keen interest on renewable energy and sustainable development.
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