The European Union has imposed a gold ban on Sudan. The EU barred the purchase, import and transfer of Sudanese gold, saying the trade has become a key source of financing for the country’s civil war. The war erupted in April 2023.
The conflict pits the regular army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. More than 14 million people have fled their homes as a result.
Gold Fuels Both Sides of the Conflict
Sudan ranks among Africa’s largest gold producers. Its vast reserves have become a crucial revenue source for both warring parties, rights groups say. EU foreign ministers approved the gold ban alongside a separate ban on exports to Sudan of mercury and cyanide. Gold miners widely use both chemicals.
UN experts and other analysts estimate that smugglers move more than half, and by some estimates as much as 70 percent, of Sudan’s gold out of the country each year. The RSF controls most goldfields in Darfur and Kordofan, in the west and centre of the country. The Sudanese army oversees production in the north and east.
Traffickers often move the gold through neighbouring Egypt, Chad and Libya before it reaches Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai serves as a major global hub for gold refining and trade, according to the World Gold Council.
EU Says Measures Will Cut Resources Fuelling the War
“Gold has become a key source of revenue sustaining the conflict in Sudan,” the EU Council said in a statement. The Council said the ban and other restrictions aim to reduce the resources available to those responsible for perpetuating the violence, and to increase pressure on those fuelling the war.
Under the new rules, EU individuals and companies cannot purchase, import or transport gold that originates in Sudan. The export ban exempts mercury and cyanide needed for humanitarian and public health purposes.
Part of a Broader Sanctions Push
The latest restrictions expand an existing EU sanctions regime. That regime already targets individuals and entities accused of fuelling the conflict. Experts warn, however, that sanctions alone won’t halt the trade unless major gold hubs like Dubai and regional transit routes also tighten enforcement against illicit Sudanese gold, according to a UN Panel of Experts report.
International pressure on the conflict’s backers to disengage keeps mounting. Aid agencies estimate that more than 28 million people in Sudan now face acute hunger.
