UN warns corporations over Sudan conflict-fuelling gum arabic trade
A UN report warns that corporate supply chains for gum arabic are helping sustain Sudan’s devastating war, putting pressure on international buyers to strengthen oversight.
The United Nations human rights office warned on Wednesday that Sudan’s warring factions are systematically exploiting natural resources to fund military operations, creating a self-perpetuating conflict. The agency explicitly called on international corporations involved in the value chain of Sudanese commodities to ensure strict compliance with international law.
The UN report focused heavily on the trade of gum arabic, a key ingredient used in soft drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Before the war between the Sudanese regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted in April 2023, Sudan dominated the market, accounting for 70 to 80 percent of global crude gum arabic exports.
For international companies sourcing the ingredient, the report highlights a serious supply chain risk. Although gum arabic is modest in overall export value compared to major global commodities, it remains one of Sudan's most internationally relied-upon exports and an important income source for millions of Sudanese.
Control over this trade is now deeply entangled with the violence on the ground. In May 2025, the RSF looted the Gum Arabic Exchange, its warehouses, and a local market in El-Nuhud in West Kordofan state just as stocks were full and ready for export. The UN found that agricultural workers and traders relying on the commodity face widespread looting, extortion, arbitrary detention and threats from the warring parties and their allies.
This economic exploitation has devastating human consequences. The conflict has killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced upwards of 11 million, while pushing parts of Sudan into hunger and famine. Companies purchasing from these conflict-affected value chains face mounting pressure to prove their operations are not indirectly financing this crisis.
"Companies cannot continue business as usual when sourcing from conflict-affected value chains," said UN rights chief Volker Türk. He urged nations to strengthen accountability, traceability and regulatory oversight to disrupt the war economy and pay closer attention to the trade routes that keep it alive.
"Sudan's vast wealth of natural resources should benefit its people," Türk added. "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."
