Three years ago, war broke out in Sudan. Today, the Sudanese Alliance for Rights marks this painful anniversary with deep sorrow, urgency, and a renewed call for decisive action to end a conflict that continues to devastate millions of lives.
The scale of suffering in Sudan is staggering and worsening by the day.
More than 15 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, while millions more are directly affected by violence, displacement, hunger, and the collapse of essential services. Sudan is now facing one of the largest displacement crises globally, with over 14 million people forced from their homes, the majority of them women and children—families stripped of safety, dignity, and stability.
At least 4,300 children have been killed or maimed, and over 8 million children are out of school, their education interrupted and their futures placed on hold indefinitely. These are not just numbers—they are children whose lives have been permanently altered, and a generation at risk of being lost.
Beyond the numbers lies an even more devastating reality.
Children in Sudan are being recruited and used in armed conflict, exposed to violence that strips them of their childhood and forces them into roles as fighters, porters, informants, and in some cases victims of sexual violence and exploitation. Others are killed or injured in indiscriminate attacks, including drone strikes, airstrikes, and shelling of civilian areas, where homes, schools, markets, and displacement sites have become places of repeated destruction and loss.
At the same time, Sudanese children are being silently killed by hunger and disease. Nearly 29 million people face acute food insecurity, with children among the most affected—many surviving on one meal a day or less. Millions of children are suffering from acute malnutrition, including hundreds of thousands at risk of severe acute malnutrition, where survival depends on urgent humanitarian access that is too often delayed or denied.
The collapse of the health system has triggered widespread preventable death. Outbreaks of cholera, measles, malaria, and dengue fever are spreading rapidly, particularly in overcrowded displacement camps where clean water, sanitation, and healthcare have broken down. In Darfur, the situation is especially catastrophic, with children facing a deadly convergence of conflict, famine, disease, and insecurity, where preventable illnesses are becoming fatal.
Hospitals have been destroyed or rendered non-functional. Schools have been attacked, occupied, or abandoned. Protection systems have collapsed entirely. Children are left exposed to violence, hunger, disease, and trauma that will shape their lives for decades to come.
This is not only a humanitarian crisis—it is a profound moral emergency.
While we mark this devastating anniversary, the Berlin Conference is taking place, bringing together international and regional actors to deliberate on Sudan’s future. The Sudanese Alliance for Rights acknowledges the importance of such engagements and the attention being given to the crisis. However, we stress that discussions alone are not enough. The magnitude of suffering demands urgent, coordinated, and decisive action to end the war.
We call unequivocally for an immediate and sustained ceasefire. There can be no meaningful humanitarian response, no recovery, and no future for Sudan while violence continues. The continuation of this war is destroying lives, communities, and the very foundations of the country’s future.
We urge all warring parties to immediately cease hostilities and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. We further call on regional and international actors gathering in Berlin to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete, unified action to end this war.
As Sudan marks three years of conflict, we issue this message with clarity and urgency:
No more lives should be lost.
Its children cannot survive another year of suffering.
Sudan cannot endure another year of war.
And the world cannot afford another year of inaction.
The time to end this war is now.
Signed,
Sudanese Alliance for Rights
