UK may be ‘complicit’ in Sudan’s suffering, warns Cafod  

Bishop Paul Swarbrick urged Catholics to pray for peace in Sudan and to ‘call on the UK Government not to lose sight of this ongoing crisis’.

Director of Cafod Christine Allen has warned that there is a gap in public awareness of the huge scale of suffering caused by the civil war in Sudan.

“Sudan is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, but many would not have heard about it at all,” she said. “This is despite over 33 million people in need and more than 150,000 lives lost.”

Allen joined the other aid agencies that make up the #KeepEyesOnSudan coalition and Anneliese Dodds MP to deliver a petition with more than 44,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street, demanding that the government urgently scales up its diplomatic efforts to protect civilians and support a regional response to the crisis.

“As chair for the war-torn country at the UN Security Council, Britain is in a unique position to advocate on Sudan’s behalf,” Allen explained.

“Given our government has this privilege, it’s atrocious that British military equipment has been found in Sudanese battlefields. We’re meant to be brokering peace rather than prolonging suffering.

“News reports last year highlighted the horrors of this conflict, with bloodshed so extensive it could be viewed from space via satellite. We cannot be complicit.”

Allen quoted Pope Leo XIV’s words on the futility of violence: “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.

“Military action will not create space for freedom or times of peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.”

A conference of international leaders was held in Berlin on 15 April with the aim of bringing Sudan back into focus on the diplomatic agenda, three years after the war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The conference aimed to strengthen humanitarian support, call for a ceasefire, and give a voice to Sudanese civilian actors who want a civilian-led transition.

“It feels as though we are at the cusp on making progress in Sudan,” said Allen. “This opportunity should not be wasted. We must come together and campaign for lasting peace.”

Bishop of Lancaster Paul Swarbrick also urged Catholics in England and Wales to pray for peace and to “call on the UK Government not to lose sight of this ongoing crisis”.

He said, “I am aware, through my links with the Church in Sudan and with Catholic charities working in the region that there is a fear that the conflict risks being overlooked by the international community.

“The United Kingdom is ‘penholder’ for Sudan at the United Nations Security Council, and I hope it will use that position to promote continued diplomatic engagement and to support a peaceful resolution of this conflict.

“These less widely reported conflicts must not be ignored, we must remember the words of Proverbs 31:8: ‘Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.’”

Bishop Swarbrick echoed Pope Leo’s call for nonviolence and said, “The people of Sudan are owed peace. Let us not forget them. Let us continue to pray, to speak out, and to act in solidarity, so that hope may prevail over suffering.” 

Aid agencies urge UK government to confront ‘world’s biggest humanitarian catastrophe’ in Sudan

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