The European Union and United Kingdom today pledged a significant boost in aid to Sudan, marking the second anniversary of the war that has ravaged the country, displaced over 12 million people, and drawn international condemnation.
At a high-level London conference, the EU and member states committed over €522 million ($592 million), while Britain pledged an additional £120 million ($158 million) to support humanitarian efforts and stabilize the region.
Hosted at Lancaster House, the summit brought together top diplomats including British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, AU Peace and Security Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, alongside representatives from France, Germany, Egypt, Kenya, and the UAE.
Sudan’s foreign ministry criticized the event, citing the exclusion of both warring parties—the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan also protested the presence of the UAE, accusing it of supporting the RSF with arms—a claim backed by UN experts and U.S. lawmakers, though denied by Abu Dhabi.
“We do need patient diplomacy,” Lammy said. “We cannot resign ourselves to inevitable conflict.”
The Sudan conflict, ignited in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and devastated Darfur and other regions. A UN agency warned today that rape is being used systematically as a weapon of war, as rights groups submitted a 141-page war crimes dossier against the RSF to UK police, seeking ICC involvement.
Despite the lack of direct Sudanese representation, the conference aimed to establish principles for future international engagement, amid hopes for more coordinated aid efforts.
“The greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time is unfolding before the eyes of the world,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
With over 30 million people in need of assistance, speakers at the summit stressed the urgency of a unified response to end the suffering in Sudan.
