European Parliament to vote on Sudan resolution addressing 'human catastrophe'

Vote scheduled for Thursday, one week after EU sanctioned RSF deputy commander

Refugees from El Fasher, displaced by the war between the RSF and the Sudanese army, receive meals at a camp in Tine, Chad. Reuters

The European Parliament is scheduled to vote this week on a resolution over the escalation of Sudan’s civil war and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe.

The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, is expected to attend a debate on Tuesday before a vote on Thursday.

The centrist group Renew is understood to be spearheading the resolution. Negotiations on the final text are continuing. Political groups can each table a resolution and negotiate on joint resolutions if they have converging positions.

“In Sudan, we are seeing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” said the head of the Renew group in the European Parliament, French politician Valerie Hayer. “We would want to make sure that humanitarian aid gets through. We condemn all the protagonists who are fuelling the crisis.”

On Monday, European Parliament spokeswoman Delphine Colard clarified that the deadline for joint resolutions is Wednesday.

Valerie Hayer, head of the Renew group in the European Parliament, said she condemned all protagonists fuelling Sudan's war. EPA

The resolution is expected to focus on the “escalation of the war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan”, the European Parliament's newsletter stated last week.

The conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has claimed 150,000 lives since 2023. It has led to famine and claims of genocide in the Darfur region.

Warring parties are negotiating a truce with the support of the Quad group: the United States, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, met US presidential envoy for Africa, Massad Boulos, in Abu Dhabi for talks on Tuesday. Afterwards, he said the UAE welcomed US efforts to end the war in Sudan and condemned “atrocities” committed by both Sudan's army and the RSF.

Last week, EU foreign ministers approved sanctions against Abdelrahim Dagalo, the RSF's deputy commander. The RSF's actions in the city of El Fasher last month have triggered international outrage. As it took over the city, in the Darfur region, videos emerged of people being shot in the streets. Reports said residents were attacked by drones and crushed by lorries.

A UN Human Rights Council report in September found that the RSF and Sudanese army have directed large-scale attacks against civilians and vital infrastructure including medical centres, constituting serious violations of international law.

The US says the SAF, under the command of Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, “has committed lethal attacks on civilians”, including attacks on schools, markets and hospitals. Separately, Washington has alleged that the army has used chemical weapons.

The European Parliament's previous joint resolution on Sudan was adopted in March by a wide range of political groups, signalling a relative consensus. It focused on the political, humanitarian and human rights crisis in the country, in particular sexual violence and child rape.

It was backed by MEPs from the centre-right PPE and ECR groups, the S&D (Socialists and Democrats), Renew, the Greens and the Left, and “strongly condemned the indiscriminate attacks on civilians and widespread sexual violence against women and children committed by both the SAF and RSF”.