Freedom of religion or belief in Sudan

This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee (PDF) and will be led by Jim Shannon (DUP).

This briefing provides an overview of the Sudanese civil war, which began in April 2023, and information on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Sudan. It also sets out UK Government policy on Sudan and FoRB.

Sudan’s civil war, 2023 to present

The current civil war in Sudan began in April 2023. The United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have led mediation efforts.

Origins and current state of conflict

Sudan has now entered its fourth year of civil war.

Outbreak

In April 2023, armed conflict in Sudan broke out between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The outbreak of conflict followed the removal of Omar al-Bashir as president (who was in office from 1989 to 2019). The transitional government, in which General al-Burhan served as president and head of the armed forces, with Dagalo as his deputy, had been unable to agree on Sudan’s future, including how to transition to civilian rule.

Recent developments in the fighting

Despite attempts at mediation (see below), fighting has continued. In 2025, the RSF established its own separate Sudanese government, while in 2026, the SAF has re-established a government in the capital, Khartoum (the SAF recaptured Khartoum from the RSF in early 2025). In 2026, the monitoring group Armed Conflict Location Event Dataset (ACLED) has reported increased RSF infighting and increasing drone use in the conflict.

Human rights violations and attacks on civilians

The UN Human Rights Council has reported attacks on civilians, humanitarian workers and civilian structures, and conflict-related sexual violence. In January 2025, the Biden administration concluded that “members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan” and that “members of the SAF and the RSF had committed war crimes”.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating crimes allegedly committed in Darfur since April 2023. A UN fact-finding mission has said that the ICC’s jurisdiction should be extended beyond Darfur. In 2025, the UK Government argued that the required UN Security Council resolution would likely be vetoed.

Humanitarian situation

Humanitarian need remains high. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ humanitarian response plan for 2026 estimates that around 33.7 million people require support (this is around two thirds of the population of Sudan and the highest number since the conflict began in 2023). Around 13 million people have been displaced, either within Sudan or to neighbouring states.

In September 2025, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirmed that some areas of Sudan were in famine conditions.

Mediation efforts

Mediation efforts in Sudan have been led by the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (sometimes referred to as ‘the quad’).

In September 2025, the quad countries agreed a roadmap for a ceasefire. The roadmap called:

• on all parties to facilitate humanitarian access
• for an end to all external military support for the two sides
• for respect for Sudan’s territorial unity and sovereignty

The quad countries also called for an initial three-month humanitarian truce to lead to a permanent ceasefire and, within nine months, the conclusion of a transition process to a civilian-led government.

In June 2026, consultations with “Sudanese political and civilian stakeholders” were held by ‘the Quintet’ (the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States, the European Union and the UN).

UK Government actions and statements

The UK, the US and others have issued a statement backing the Quintet’s consultations to advance a “comprehensive and inclusive Sudanese civilian-led dialogue process”.

The UK Government has backed the quad’s initiative. It had earlier hosted a conference on Sudan in April 2025 and a follow-up ministerial-level meeting in September 2025.

In 2024, a UN Security Council resolution co-drafted by the UK calling an immediate ceasefire had been vetoed by Russia.

The UK has also applied sanctions against individuals suspected of committing atrocities in Sudan and providing external support.

Some MPs have expressed a concern that UK arms sold to the UAE may have been deployed by the RSF in Sudan (the UAE strongly denies that it is supplying weaponry to any party in the Sudan conflict). The UK Government says that the UK “is providing no arms that are of use in the conflict”. The government has called on all external actors to cease financial and other support to the SAF and the RSF.

Although UK aid spending is going to be reduced to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027, the government says it is “fully protecting our allocation to Sudan”. Planned UK aid to Sudan had fallen from £146 million in 2024/25 to £120 million in 2025/26 but the Foreign Secretary has confirmed £146 million in aid for 2026/27.

Further resources on the conflict in Sudan

• Commons Library briefing,Sudan: The “forgotten” conflict, February 2024. Provides an overview of the conflict’s origins.
• Lords Library briefing, Humanitarian situation in Sudan, November 2025. Summary of humanitarian need, the UK response and parliamentary proceedings relating to the conflict.
• Independent Commission for Aid Impact, UK aid to Sudan, October 2025. Review of UK aid to Sudan and its effectiveness.
• International Crisis Group, Divided Sudan,elusive peace, April 2026, and the Council on Foreign Relations, Civil war in Sudan, May 2026, provide an overview of the conflict in 2026.

Religious and faith communities in Sudan

The monitoring organisation Minority Rights Group notes that “there is no accurate demographic data in Sudan” and “previous censuses are widely regarded as being of poor quality.”

It estimates that the vast majority of the Sudanese population are Sunni Muslims (97%), with the rest of the population made up of Christians and animists. According to the Minority Rights Group, the Christian population is “long established” and resides mainly in Khartoum, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile states.

FoRB and human rights in Sudan

Sudan’s 2019 draft constitution set out religious freedoms. However, since the outbreak of the civil war, several organisations have raised concerns about increasing religious discrimination and violence.

Draft constitution

Sudan’s draft constitutional charter for the 2019 transitional period (PDF; chapter 14: Rights and freedoms charter) guaranteed freedom of religion and worship. The draft constitutional charter also abolished the death penalty and criminalisation of apostasy:

Every person shall have the right to freedom of religious belief and worship. They shall have the right to profess or express their religion or belief through worship, education, practice, performance of rituals, or celebrations, in accordance with the requirements of the law and public order. No one shall be compelled to convert to a religion they do not believe in or to practices rites or rituals they do not voluntarily accept.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance thinktank noted in 2022 that the 2019 draft constitutional charter was “still officially in force as the transitional period’s constitutional framework” (PDF).

Concerns about FoRB since the outbreak of civil war

Following the outbreak of civil war there is no single authority within Sudan, and several monitoring groups have reported concerns for FoRB.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) Annual Report 2025 (PDF) said that religious discrimination and violence had increased since the start of the civil war:

“[…] the abuse of Islamic hudud (corporal) punishments, forcible conversions to Islam, attacks against places of worship, widespread restriction of worship, and rampant discrimination against religious minorities”

USCIRF’s Annual Report 2026 says that “RSF fighters have additionally looted and destroyed civilian infrastructure, including houses of worship such as churches and mosques as well as hospitals and markets.” The report recommended that the US State Department designate the RSF as an Entity of Particular Concern (EPC) due to the “harmful effects to religious freedom and Sudan’s diverse religious and ethnic communities”.

However, USCIRF notes that “no specific action has been taken against an EPC in connection with a designation to date”, though some EPCs have been separately sanctioned by the US for FoRB violations.

Open Doors, a non-denominational Christian mission supporting persecuted Christians around the world, has moved Sudan up one place to fourth on its World Watch List. The list details the extent of persecution and discrimination against Christians globally. Open Doors says that “life for believers in Sudan is becoming increasingly difficult” with the government using “old Islamic laws to justify forced conversion and physical punishment, threatening the lives of Christians across the country.”

In a March 2025 speech to the UN Human Rights Council, the UK’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith, said that “in Sudan, non-Muslims were reportedly coerced to change their beliefs through denial of work, food aid and education.”

UK Government statements and policy

In a speech to the UN in October 2025, the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith, said the government “must do more to address the root causes of displacement and migration, including violations and abuses of FoRB”.

He cited Sudan as an example, saying “we are bolstering peace efforts and support for those fleeing violence; secured renewal of the UN fact-finding mission; and providing an additional £120m this year in humanitarian aid alone”.

In March 2025, the Middle East Minister, Hamish Falconer said: “We will continue to recognise the persecution of individuals on the basis of their religion or belief” in response to a question about Sudan’s transitional authorities’ approach to FoRB.

He also said that the Minister for Africa, Baroness Chapman, had “expressed concern about the situation for religious and ethnic minorities impacted by Sudan's war”. Mr Falconer added that Foreign, Commonwealth
and Development Office (FCDO) officials had asked representatives of the RSF to protect civilians:

raised similar issues in communication with representatives from the Rapid Support Forces on different occasions since the start of the conflict. We have used these exchanges to request that their leadership make every effort to protect civilians and cease atrocities.

Wider UK policy on FoRB

In March 2025, the FCDO told the UN General Assembly that the UK remained “deeply concerned about the severity and scale of FoRB violations and abuses in many parts of the world” and that it “unequivocally condemns incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, wherever this occurs”.

The FCDO has previously said that FoRB is “an integral part” of its work on human rights. It says that it integrates FoRB into its wider work on strengthening the rules-based international order, advancing democratic values, promoting good governance and contributing to conflict prevention. The FCDO says that UK aid is allocated to those “most vulnerable” or marginalised, which can include minority religious or belief communities.

In 2022, the FCDO said that it “considers the intersectionality of human rights” and recognises that women and girls from religious minorities can be particularly vulnerable because of their faith.

Also in 2022, the FCDO said that “where FoRB is under attack, other basic rights are threatened too”. It said that attacks on FoRB can involve denials of freedom of expression, detention without trial, impunity for attacks on property and people, and can often contribute to conflict and the growth of extremism.

For further information on UK policy on FoRB, see the Commons Library briefing The UK and Global Freedom of Religion or Belief (July 2025).

Further reading

The links below give further information on FoRB in Sudan.

Reports

• Humanists International, Freedom of Thought Report 2026: Sudan, 9 February 2026
• US Department of State, 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Sudan, April 2024 (and earlier reports cited above in the main text)

Human rights and Christian organisations

• Open Doors, Sudan
• Minority Rights Group, Sudan
• APPG on freedom of religion or belief, Sudan

Press, media and other articles

• Open Doors, Hope amidst despair – Sudan’s civil war three years on, 15 April 2026
• Association of Evangelicals in Africa, Faith under fire: the plight and resilience of Sudanese Christians in war, 27 November 2025
• International Christian Concern, The Cost of Faith in Sudan, 20 October 2025
• Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Rapid Support Forces bomb three churches in El Fasher, 18 June 2025
• Voice of America, Sudanese Christian, Muslim leaders agree to promote religious freedom, 28 October 2020
• BBC, Sudan scraps apostasy law and alcohol ban for non-Muslims, 12 July 2020
• Government of Sudan, Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period (PDF)