Sudan’s war economy is helping to sustain the three-year-long conflict, exposing global supply chains to serious human rights risks, a UN Human Rights Office report published on Wednesday warns. It calls on all parties to the conflict, and States and corporations involved in Sudan’s gum arabic value chain, to ensure compliance with international law.

As the costs of sustaining military operations have grown, warring parties have relied on the control and exploitation of territory, trade routes and commodities to generate revenue — contributing to what the report describes as an “increasingly self-perpetuating” conflict.

“Sudan’s vast wealth of natural resources should benefit its people. Distressingly, what we are seeing today is anything but that. In fact, this wealth is only serving to undermine human rights and drive conflict, bringing pain and suffering on an enormous scale,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

“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.”

The report specifically examines the trade in gum arabic – a key ingredient in products such as soft drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals - as a case study on the adverse human rights impacts of Sudan’s war economy. Although modest in export value compared with other commodities, gum arabic remains one of Sudan’s most internationally relied-upon exports, accounting for roughly 70 to 80 per cent of global crude gum arabic exports before the war.

Gum arabic remains an important source of income for millions of Sudanese. Yet, the report finds that many individuals and families who depend on, or are linked to, the gum arabic trade have faced threats to their physical safety, arbitrary detention, looting and extortion, including through actions by parties to the conflict and associated actors.

Large-scale looting and conflict-related disruptions of the gum arabic value chain have also adversely affected the livelihoods and working conditions of individuals involved in it. In May 2025, for example, the Gum Arabic Exchange and its warehouses, as well as parts of the wider market in El-Nuhud, West Kordofan, were reportedly looted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) when stocks were full and ready for export, severely disrupting local trade and affecting livelihoods linked to the sector.

Since the conflict began in 2023, Sudan’s gum arabic trade has been increasingly reshaped by territorial fragmentation, with some quantities from areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) moving toward Port Sudan for export, while significant quantities from areas controlled by the RSF have been redirected through cross-border smuggling routes to neighbouring countries.

The report points to the role of neighbouring and transit States in the onward movement of Sudanese gum arabic. It warns that Sudanese gum arabic may enter customs or commercial export channels and, in some cases, be treated, documented or traded as locally produced, making its origin difficult to verify.

The UN Human Rights Chief stressed that international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, provide a framework for action. He urged States and companies linked to trade in Sudanese commodities, including gum arabic, to take stronger action to ensure that trade and export practices do not contribute to adverse human rights impacts or to sustaining the conflict.

Türk called on States to strengthen accountability, traceability, regulatory oversight and access to remedy. He also urged companies to act in line with their responsibility to respect human rights.

“Companies cannot continue business as usual when sourcing from conflict-affected value chains,” Türk said. “They should undertake heightened, conflict-sensitive human rights due diligence, including stronger scrutiny of routes, intermediaries, documentation and possible re-labelling, and ensure that affected people have access to safe and effective grievance and response mechanisms.”