By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The European Union (EU) has placed a ban on the purchase, import and transfer of gold from Sudan, stressing that the trade has become a major source of financing for the country’s political crisis that erupted since April 2023.
The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed thousands of persons, displacing 14 million others from their homes, causing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Sudan is one of Africa’s largest gold producers. According to rights groups, the country’s vast reserves have become a crucial source of revenue for both warring sides.
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 UN experts and other analysts, more than half 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 mainstream army oversees production in northern and eastern regions.
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.
“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.
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.
