The European Union (EU) has banned the purchase, import and transfer of gold from Sudan, saying the trade has become a key source of financing for the country’s civil war that erupted in April 2023.
The conflict between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, forcing more than 14 million people from their homes.
Gold remains a major source of revenue for both sides
Sudan is one of Africa’s largest gold producers, and its vast reserves have become a crucial source of revenue for both sides in the conflict, according to rights groups.
According to the BBC, EU foreign ministers approved the measures alongside a ban on exports to Sudan of mercury and cyanide, chemicals widely used in gold mining.
According to United Nations experts and other analysts, more than half, and by some estimates as much as 70 per cent, of Sudan’s gold is smuggled out of the country each year.
The RSF controls most goldfields in Darfur and Kordofan in the western and central areas of the country, while the Sudanese army oversees production in the north and east.
The gold is often trafficked through neighbouring countries, including Egypt, Chad and Libya, before reaching Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major global hub for gold refining and trade.
EU expands sanctions targeting Sudan’s gold trade
“Gold has become a key source of revenue sustaining the conflict in Sudan,” the EU Council said in a statement, adding that the ban and other restrictions were designed to “reduce the resources” available to those responsible for perpetuating the violence.
“The measures are designed to curb sources of financing for the conflict and further increase pressure on those fuelling the war,” it added.
Under the restrictive measures, EU individuals and companies are prohibited from purchasing, importing or transporting gold originating in Sudan.
Mercury and cyanide needed for humanitarian and public health purposes are not subject to the EU’s export ban.
The latest restrictions expand a broader EU sanctions regime that has already targeted individuals and entities accused of fuelling the conflict.
Experts say enforcement will be key
However, experts have warned that sanctions alone are unlikely to halt the trade unless major international gold trading hubs and regional transit routes also tighten enforcement against illicit Sudanese gold.
International pressure has been increasing on the backers of the conflict to disengage as aid agencies estimate that more than 28 million people in Sudan are facing acute hunger.
ICC investigation adds to international scrutiny
The sanctions come as international scrutiny of the conflict continues to increase.
According to Reuters, a “breakthrough” has been made in the investigation into crimes committed during Sudan’s war in the Darfur region, allowing prosecutors to link them to leadership, a senior International Criminal Court (ICC) official has said.
The ICC is investigating attacks on the cities of al-Geneina in 2023 and al-Fashir last year, where United Nations experts say forces from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed crimes that bear the “hallmarks of genocide” against people from non-Arab tribes.
“We have got additional evidence, strong evidence, linking what is occurring in Darfur with leadership levels. And we are very, very pleased to say that this is a breakthrough for us,” deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told Reuters following a visit to eastern Chad to meet victims of the attacks.
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