9 December 2025
Conference in European Parliament on war in Sudan
At the European Parliament in Brussels, a conference on the war in Sudan took place on Tuesday 9 December 2025, under the title “Sudan in Crisis: Turning Humanitarian Action into Lasting Peace”. Members of the European Parliament, experts, researchers and journalists examined the situation since the outbreak of the war on Saturday 15 April 2023. Central to the debate was the situation of the Sudanese population, which is confronted with systematic human rights violations, famine and mass displacement.
The debates were moderated by Manel Msalmi, human rights adviser at the Milton Friedman Institute. She gave the various speakers room to explain both the political and military power relations and the humanitarian consequences of the war. At the same time, the question arose what role the European Union can still play in increasing pressure on those responsible and strengthening support for civilians.
Regional actors and ideological networks
Journalist and former intelligence expert Claude Moniquet examined the role of the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran. According to his analysis, Iranian structures are supplying weapons to the Sudanese army via the Red Sea. This flow of material, he argued, is part of a broader strategy through which Tehran is expanding its influence in Africa and seeking new footholds.
Moniquet warned that an entrenched Iranian network in and around Sudan is not only a source of instability for the region. In his view, it also represents a security risk for Europe, among other things because weapons and militias can move along the same routes towards the Mediterranean area.
Former Member of the European Parliament Paulo Casaca, founder of the South Asia Forum, pointed to the role of Qatar and other states that have supported Islamist forces in Sudan. He stated that the authorities in Khartoum have gradually dismantled international mechanisms that were meant to monitor their human rights record. In this context, he referred to the way the UN mission UNITAMS, created to accompany the transition to civilian rule, was undermined and ultimately terminated.
Consequences for Europe and call for support
Heath Sloane, Director of Geopolitical Intelligence at B&K Agency, outlined how Islamist networks have become a strategic factor in the war. The influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and the axis between Iran and the Houthi movement is, in his view, deeply embedded in the conflict and extends far beyond Sudan’s borders.
Sloane stressed that the war has direct consequences for Europe. Flows of refugees put existing reception systems under strain, extremist ideologies can reach Europe via digital channels and personal networks, and foreign powers gain an opportunity to establish a lasting presence in a country with a crucial position on the Red Sea. He called on the European Union to actively support Sudanese actors who choose pluralism, such as women’s organisations, minority groups, journalists and civil society organisations. According to him, they are among the few forces still working towards a future with more participation and less violence.
Sudanese political voice demands justice
Khalid Omer Yousif, former Sudanese Minister of Cabinet Affairs and a key political figure, offered a perspective from within the country. He described the situation in Sudan as the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe at this moment and stated that there is no military way out. The core of the crisis, he argued, lies in decades of military rule that have systematically suppressed Sudan’s diversity and deepened differences instead of reducing them.
Yousif pointed to serious violations of international law by both warring parties and called for real accountability. Impunity, he said, cannot continue if a more stable order is ever to emerge. He stated that the Sudanese Islamic Movement is prolonging the war and argued that this movement should be recognised as a terrorist organisation.
He also called on Europe to support the roadmap of the so-called Quad format of Friday 12 September, in which international partners have set out a path to restart the political process in Sudan. He urged a substantial expansion of humanitarian aid and support for the international fact-finding mission that is gathering evidence so that perpetrators can later be prosecuted.
Human rights advocates appeal to the European Union
Journalist and human rights defender Andy Vermaut recalled the upheaval of 2019, when Sudanese citizens took to the streets against the military rulers. After the fall of the old regime, hopes were high for a civilian transition, but these hopes were brutally dashed in 2021 when Islamist and military leaders once again seized control through violence, arrests and mass killings.
Vermaut described how the war is now causing famine in large parts of the country, large-scale sexual violence and testimonies from civilians who suffocate after the use of chemical weapons. From the perspective of European values on human rights and democracy, he argued, the European Union cannot remain on the sidelines. He called for a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe, diplomatic isolation of extremist actors who fuel the war and unhindered humanitarian access to civilians, regardless of the region they live in.
For readers and citizens in Europe, this raises the question to what extent European institutions are prepared to turn their own human rights statements into concrete decisions on sanctions, support and diplomatic pressure. What is discussed in Brussels today has direct consequences for Sudanese men, women and children trying to survive in a country at war.
Images of chemical weapons close the day
At the end of the conference, participants watched a recent investigative report by an international news channel on the use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese army against civilians. The testimonies and images underline how far the violence in Sudan has gone and how difficult it is for victims to make their voices heard in international forums.
The screening made it clear that the discussion in Brussels is not confined to analytical debates in meeting rooms, but is directly connected to the lives of people who face violence, hunger and fear every day. For European decision-makers and citizens, the question is what responsibility they are willing to assume towards Sudan, in terms of reception policy, foreign policy and support for judicial action.
The conference at the European Parliament thus left an image of a country at war, caught between regional power struggles, ideological networks and calls for justice. Anyone looking at Sudan also sees a test of the credibility of the European human rights agenda. The contributions of politicians, experts and human rights defenders showed how closely security interests, humanitarian considerations and support for democratic forces are intertwined. Behind every policy choice lie the lives of concrete Sudanese people, and the way Europe responds now will resonate for years to come in the future of the country and the wider region.
The meeting in Brussels shows that the war in Sudan is not only a tragedy for millions of Sudanese citizens, but also a measure of Europe’s willingness to take its own values seriously. By bringing together the voices of Sudanese politicians, international experts and human rights defenders, it becomes clear how decisions in the European Parliament are directly linked to food aid, the protection of women and minorities and the collection of evidence for future judicial proceedings. Anyone following this debate can see how deeply Sudanese families are affected and how closely this is linked to choices made here in Europe.
Sources:
Sudan in Crisis: Turning Humanitarian Action into Lasting Peace”, European Parliament, Brussels
Investigative report by France 24 on the use of chemical weapons in Sudan
Andy Vermaut +32499357495