Sudan Enabling Environment baseline snapshot

The political and human rights situation in Sudan has significantly deteriorated since the coup of 25 October 2021, executed jointly by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and their allies from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan  (Hemedti), which overthrew the revolutionary government established after the December 2018 popular revolution. The coup suspended the Constitutional Charter for the Transitional Period of 2019 and forced the resignation of the civilian Prime Minister Dr. Abdalla Hamdok. The subsequent power struggle between the SAF and RSF culminated in the outbreak of war on 15 April 2023, spreading from the capital, Khartoum to the rest of Sudan, further undermining civic space and human rights. The humanitarian disaster in Sudan is currently the largest in the world, with more than 11.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over 3 million refugees.

This war has been characterised by gross violations against civilians, women and children, as well as high rates of conflict-related sexual violence. The conflict has seen the return of ethnically motivated killings, forced displacement, and sexual violence by both sides. These tactics bear alarming similarities to the Darfur crisis of 2003-2005, raising fears of systematic ethnic cleansing and war crimes. This war was also characterised by the direct targeting ofhuman rights defenders, activists, front-line responders, and even humanitarian workers, with killing, targeting, and arrest. 

In this context, civil society entities in Sudan face significant constraints on their ability to organise and operate due to laws restricting freedoms since the 2021 military coup. The situation has worsened following the outbreak of war, with the proliferation of intelligence agencies and security groups targeting activists by restricting their operational spaces. This has also had a significant impact on the safety and security of human rights defenders and activists, forcing them to flee due to the deteriorating security, living conditions, and humanitarian situation in Sudan.