US Diplomats Push for Comprehensive UN Arms Embargo to End Sudan Conflict

The United States is intensifying its efforts to secure a comprehensive UN arms embargo covering the entirety of Sudan. Washington argues that halting the flow of weapons and foreign backing to the nation's warring factions is vital to stopping a devastating civil war responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced individuals.

Michael Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, and Massad Boulos, senior adviser to President Donald Trump for Arab and African affairs, outlined the necessity of this measure in an opinion piece published on Thursday in Foreign Policy. They emphasized that the Security Council currently has a crucial chance to stem the influx of weaponry sustaining the ongoing conflict.

“More than a dozen countries with diverse motives are providing some form of military support to the warring parties,” wrote Mr Waltz and Mr Boulos. Their advocacy follows a warning issued a day prior by a UN independent fact-finding mission, which reported that foreign arms, military technology, fighters, and logistical networks are bolstering both sides and facilitating increasingly advanced attacks against civilians.

Last month, the US introduced a draft Security Council resolution aiming to broaden the current UN arms embargo—previously restricted to Darfur—to encompass the entire country, with explicit inclusion of drones and related systems. This proposal has met with resistance from Sudan's army-backed government, alongside China and Russia, both of which wield veto power. Meanwhile, the existing Darfur arms embargo, established over twenty years ago in 2005, is scheduled to expire on September 12 unless a new agreement is reached.

Mr Waltz and Mr Boulos pointed out that the 2005 embargo failed to adapt as the war spread to regions like Kordofan and Blue Nile state, compounded by the rising deployment of drones. The newly proposed resolution targets the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as any supply networks aiding either faction.

The conflict erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the SAF, headed by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

The US officials stressed that the proposed embargo must be paired with enhanced monitoring and enforcement. They stated the initiative aims to generate momentum for a humanitarian truce and a wider political process, maintaining that neither the SAF nor the RSF should dictate Sudan's political future.

“Sudan's future cannot belong to whichever armed faction is left standing,” they noted, advocating instead for independent civilian dialogue that empowers the Sudanese people to shape their nation's destiny.

The war has generated what the UN characterizes as the world's worst health and humanitarian crisis, leaving approximately 20 million people facing acute hunger. “As long as weapons are easier to come by than food in Sudan, cooler heads have little chance to prevail,” the US diplomats concluded.