The EU has hit the African state with a new wave of sanctions aimed at crippling its gold-funded war atrocities.
The EU Council has announced a new series of sanctions designed to hit the gold trade in Sudan which has acted as a key driver of its war economy. The Council confirmed its latest wave of sanctions on Tuesday (14 July).
Sudanese gold has fuelled the ongoing conflict in the country between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, with the situation currently identified as the largest international humanitarian crisis by organisations including Oxfam and the International Rescue Committee.
The EU rolled out its initial series of sanctions on 9 October 2023, after the conflict broke out on 15 April the same year.
Under the latest sanctions, the ban is set to apply to the purchase, import or transfer of gold sourced from Sudan, with an additional ban on the sale, supply, transfer or export of mercury and cyanide to Sudan, due to their use in gold mining and exploitation.
The ban has been set with accompanying barriers to the provision of services relating to the resources, including brokering services, technical and financial assistance.
Targeted exemptions will apply to the use of mercury and cyanide for humanitarian purposes, disaster response and public health emergencies.
A recent report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation identified Sudan as one of the African states showing declining levels in anti-corruption standards over the last decade, a trend prevalent among several countries in the Sahel ‘coup belt’ region.