Together we can stop the war in Sudan!

The conflict broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (a militia). The Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF are not just fighting, they are aiming to crush the 2018 revolution, which demanded a civilian-led government and an end to military rule in Sudan. Currently, 10 of Sudan's 14 states are active war zones. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced. Health and education systems have almost collapsed, while factories, agriculture and other means of production have been destroyed. Trade unionists, activists and revolutionary forces have become the main targets of the warring parties.

On Saturday 27 July 2024, the Sudanese Teachers' Committee, one of the independent trade unions in Sudan, launched a campaign to end the war in Sudan. The member organisations of the International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggle support this initiative and the trade union motion below, which we call on trade union sections, trade unions, federations, trade union unions and trade union confederations to sign!

We see the devastation caused by the continuing war in Sudan between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which broke out in April 2023 following the revolution of 2018. Civilians are paying the price of this struggle to control the government and the country's resources.

We believe that foreign powers, including the British government, have contributed to this conflict by legitimising the two groups of generals through constant pressure on Sudanese civilian and democratic forces to negotiate power-sharing agreements with them. In addition, regional states allied to Britain, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Israel, directly fuelled the conflict by providing military, financial and diplomatic support to the warring parties.

We note that Sudanese trade unions have been in the vanguard of the movement for peace and democracy, opposing the military coup of October 2021 and the war in Sudan, and have sent their messages of solidarity to striking workers in Britain.

We call for a lasting ceasefire, the provision of humanitarian aid by the UK government and a ban on arms transfers to Sudan and regional powers involved in the conflict.

We demand that the UK government provide safe and legal means for Sudanese citizens seeking asylum on the same basis as those offered to Ukrainians fleeing war. We send a message of solidarity to the Resistance Committees, trade unions, demand campaigns and revolutionary activists who are organising for a democratic and peaceful Sudan.We welcome their call for the demilitarisation of Sudanese towns and residential areas.We resolve to work with the MENA Solidarity Network, other trade unions and Sudanese peace and justice organisations to :

Organise solidarity events on Sudan.

Lobby parliamentarians.

Publicise solidarity actions to members and invite Sudanese speakers to meetings - Affiliated to the Middle East and North Africa Solidarity Network.

For a donation : medical aid appeal from the Union of Sudanese Doctors in the UK.

Source : MENA