As Sudan’s war enters its third year, Control Arms convened a panel of experts to examine how arms transfers continue to fuel one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. The discussion covered the origins and dynamics of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. It also explored the humanitarian toll of over 12 million people displaced and 20 million facing acute food insecurity, and the well-documented pattern of atrocities against civilians, including ethnically targeted killings and widespread sexual violence.
The panellists examined why existing arms control mechanisms have failed to stem the flow of weapons into Sudan. They discussed the structural weakness of arms embargoes, the near-total absence of rigorous risk assessment under Article 7 of the Arms Trade Treaty, and the routine use of officially issued but misleading end-user certificates to mask diversion. The panel also traced the war economy sustaining the conflict, from gold and Arabic gum supply chains to private military contracting. They considered what avenues, from corporate due diligence to targeted sanctions on financiers and logistics providers, might constrain the flow of weapons and money to the warring parties.
The panel closed with reflections on what ATT states parties should prioritize ahead of the Treaty’s working groups in March, including stronger diversion risk assessment, tighter control of parts and components, and full universalization of sanctions against those facilitating the arms trade to Sudan.
Speakers:
- Ms Hine-Wai Loose, Control Arms Director (moderator)
- Dr Mimidoo Achakpa, Control Arms Board Member; Executive Director, Women’s Right to Education Programme
- Mr Geoffrey Duke, African Scholar in Peace, Security & Development, African Leadership Centre, King’s College London
- Mr Mike Lewis, War Crimes and Weapons Investigations Consultant
- Dr Shahd Hammouri, Lecturer in International Law and Legal Theory, University of Kent
