UN Report Warns Natural Resources Fuel Sudan War Economy

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on July 15, 2026, detailing how a "war economy" sustains the conflict in Sudan. Since April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have funded military operations by exploiting natural resources, trade routes, and commodities. The conflict has killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced 11 million.

Using gum arabic—a key ingredient for global pharmaceuticals and soft drinks—as a primary case study, the report describes how territorial fragmentation has divided the trade. The SAF exports the commodity via Port Sudan and uses gold exports and trade checkpoints for revenue. Conversely, the RSF utilizes cross-border smuggling routes and looted the Gum Arabic Exchange and warehouses in El-Nuhud in May 2025. Between January and June 2024, the RSF reportedly looted 3,700 tonnes of gum arabic to compensate fighters. The OHCHR noted that these commodities are often smuggled through neighboring countries and mislabeled as local products to hide their origin.

UN rights chief Volker Türk called on the international community and corporations to implement conflict-sensitive human rights due diligence and strengthen regulatory oversight. The report warns that global industries in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics are sourcing materials from conflict zones, while traders in both SAF and RSF areas face extortion, arbitrary detention, and informal charges.