Silencing the Guns and Reasserting African Agency for Peace in Sudan

The worsening crisis in Sudan is a political and humanitarian catastrophe that requires urgent and decisive African Leadership. Communities, particularly vulnerable women, girls, youths, the elderly and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) bear the brunt, facing displacement, siege, mass hunger and systemic violations of their rights. An estimated 33.7 million people in Sudan will require humanitarian assistance in 2026 (GHO 2026), including 21 million facing acute food insecurity.

Communities, especially women and youth, continue to mobilise for safety and essential support despite life-threatening conditions. But courage alone cannot shield them from daily atrocities. Sudan’s suspension from the African Union (AU) does not absolve the AU of responsibility. ActionAid welcomes the AU Peace & Security Council’s decision to investigate arms supplies fueling the conflict. “Silencing the guns” is impossible without transparent inquiries and sanctions for all those enabling violence.

The conflict has destroyed basic rights, livelihoods, and the economy, while humanitarian access and funding remain severely constrained. Millions lack assistance, and women—over half of all IDPs, with girls making up 29%—face extreme risks, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence. GBV services are scarce or inaccessible, and national protection systems are weakened or absent. 

The confirmed famine (IPC Phase 5) in El Fasher and Kadugli, first declared in late 2025 and continuing into 2026, marks a collective failure. Today, 375,000 people face starvation conditions and imminent risk of death, trapped by siege tactics, blocked aid routes, and ongoing violence. More than two years of violence have forced repeated withdrawal of humanitarian staff, leaving communities isolated. Sudan remains one of the world’s deadliest contexts for aid workers. The women and local groups continue to act as first responders, providing protection, assistance, and solidarity where formal systems have collapsed.

ActionAid calls on the African Union (AU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), East Africa Community (EAC), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and African governments to act decisively and take immediate action to silence the guns and restore Sudanese civilian ownership of peace processes. Peace in Sudan must be African‑led; therefore, the following must be done to ensure lasting peace in Sudan and beyond:

1. Demand and enforce an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, using all available instruments to halt the bloodshed and protect civilians.
2. Reassert African leadership in peace mediation efforts, ensuring civilian Sudanese voices, particularly women, children, and youths, are central.
3. Publicise the investigation of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU PSC) into all actors supplying arms to the Sudan conflict, and sanction all actors implicated in the atrocities.
4. Meaningfully support young women’s and young people’s leadership and participation in peace negotiations and recovery efforts.
5. Mobilise resources for citizen-led and women-led organisations operating under extreme risk, including threats, harassment, arrests, and violence.
6. Translate commitments into concrete action, including those reaffirmed by H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, AU Commission Chairperson, on 7 December 2025.