UN Report Links Sudan’s Gum Arabic Trade to the Persistence of Civil War

On 15 July 2026 the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report warning that revenues from Sudan’s gum arabic industry are financing the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The assessment details how the commodity—harvested from acacia trees and used in soft drinks, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and processed foods—has become a “self-perpetuating” source of income for both parties. Large-scale looting, extortion, arbitrary detention and threats against gum arabic workers were documented in both SAF- and RSF-controlled territories.

UN says Sudan's war is driven by control of resources and trade routesThe Straits TimesSudan War Economy Profits Warring Factions, UN Rights Office WarnsFrance 24JURIST

Fighting erupted in April 2023 when the RSF, a former government-aligned paramilitary, clashed with the SAF in Khartoum. The war has entered its third to fourth year, killing an estimated 200,000 people and displacing more than 11 million. Sudan supplies roughly 70-80 percent of global crude gum arabic, making the sector a critical export for millions of Sudanese livelihoods.

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• Global share: Sudan provides about 80 percent of the world’s gum arabic.

The Straits Times

• Human cost: UN estimates place civilian deaths at ~200,000 and displacement at >11 million.

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• Economic impact: The report notes that gum arabic revenues are channeled through informal taxation, cross-border smuggling and fragmented export routes, obscuring traceability.

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People employed in the gum arabic value chain face repeated violations: looting of warehouses (e.g., the May 2025 raid on the Gum Arabic Exchange in El-Nuhud), extortion at road checkpoints, arbitrary detention, and threats to personal safety. In RSF-controlled areas, traders are forced to surrender portions of their income as informal levies; in SAF-controlled zones, similar extractions occur at checkpoints.

Sudan War Economy Profits Warring Factions, UN Rights Office Warns

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged all states, businesses and armed parties to respect international law and to conduct rigorous human-rights due diligence. He called for stronger oversight of trade routes, documentation and intermediary screening, and for companies to ensure that sourcing does not fund the conflict. The OHCHR also appealed to neighboring transit countries to prevent the re-labeling of smuggled gum arabic that masks its origin.

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The UN report stops short of naming specific international firms that source Sudanese gum arabic, limiting immediate accountability. Moreover, neither the SAF nor the RSF publish official accounts of revenue generated from commodity trade, creating a data gap that hampers precise measurement of the war economy’s scale.

UN says Sudan's war is driven by control of resources and trade routes

Sources differ on the war’s duration—some describe it as a four-year conflict, others as three years—and on casualty figures, which range from “200,000” to “an estimated 200,000.” The lack of transparent financial records for gum arabic revenues further obscures the full economic contribution of the trade to the fighting.

Sudan War Economy Profits Warring Factions, UN Rights Office Warns

• “companies cannot continue business as usual when sourcing from conflict-affected value chains.” — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Sudan War Economy Profits Warring Factions, UN Rights Office Warns

• “Sudan’s vast wealth of natural resources should benefit its people.” — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN says Sudan's war is driven by control of resources and trade routes

• “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.” — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

France 24

• “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.” — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

France 24

The gum arabic trade illustrates how natural-resource exploitation can sustain armed conflict, exposing global supply chains to serious human-rights risks. Companies that rely on Sudanese gum arabic must reassess sourcing practices to avoid financing violence, while states are urged to enforce traceability and accountability mechanisms. The UN’s warning underscores the broader challenge of disentangling commodity markets from war economies in conflict zones.

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