UK MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell speak on Sudan war at solidarity conference

Report by Amgad Abdelgadir

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Trade unionists, Sudanese activists, and international campaigners gathered in London on January 17 for the Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026, where speakers demanded an immediate end to Sudan’s war and scrutinised Britain’s role in the conflict. Radio Dabanga journalist Amgad Abdelgadir interviewed Jeremy Corbyn MP and John McDonnell MP on the sidelines of the event, organised by MENA Solidarity.

Grassroots Sudanese organisers, diaspora groups, and UK labour and anti-war activists filled the conference hall. Participants condemned both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), describing a counter-revolutionary war that has devastated the country since April 2023. Speakers said both sides have targeted civilian activists and have long records of serious abuses, including alleged genocide and crimes against humanity.

Foreign involvement and the international arms trade were major themes at the conference. Campaigners cited reports that British-made military components recovered from former RSF areas are believed to have reached the paramilitary group via the United Arab Emirates, raising questions about UK export controls and the risk and whether equipment is ending up in a conflict where the RSF has been widely accused of war crimes.

Britain’s treatment of Sudanese refugees also drew criticism. Ginnette Grantshuk of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said the UK operates a “two-tier asylum system”.

Speakers highlighted what they described as a stark disparity between the welcome offered to Ukrainians and the barriers facing people fleeing Sudan, with campaigners saying Sudanese refugees lack safe and legal routes to the UK and are often forced into dangerous journeys.

Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn, Independent MP for Islington North, told Radio Dabanga that Sudan’s war is driven in part by competition over resources and sustained by international arms flows.

He said the conference discussed Sudan’s mineral wealth, the motives behind the conflict, and the profits made by the global arms industry supplying weapons into Sudan through regional and international actors.

“Ultimately, it is the people of Sudan who are suffering,” Corbyn said, adding that “we make a call there for a ceasefire, for peace, but above all, for the voice of the Sudanese people to be heard.”

He also linked the conflict to global displacement and rising racism in Europe, warning that refugees are increasingly framed as a political problem. “The reality is that the refugees of the world are created by environmental disaster, by war, by economic inequality and injustice,” he said.

On Britain’s role, Corbyn said the UK should take practical steps to prevent further suffering. “The least they should be doing is making sure that there’s no arms supplies going to Sudan by the UAE or anybody else,” he said, urging Britain to push for “an immediate ceasefire in Sudan to prevent the further loss of life” and to play “a positive role” diplomatically.

Corbyn also addressed Sudanese residents in his constituency, saying, “Thank you for making your home in our constituency,” and adding, “I’m sorry for the horror stories that you’re going through.”

Rt Hon John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, echoed those concerns and highlighted Britain’s historical and contemporary responsibilities.

“There is a lack of awareness in the UK about the humanitarian crisis that’s taking place in Sudan,” he said, adding that the UK must also acknowledge “the role the UK has played historically as a former colonial power, and more recently through selling arms which are going into the arms of combatants in Sudan.” He warned, “We are complicit effectively in large-scale war crimes” if that role is ignored.

McDonnell urged the UK to use its position at the United Nations to help negotiate peace. “The UK has a specific role in the UN as a penholder for Sudan,” he said, calling for efforts to “bring people together, negotiate a ceasefire, and open the borders to allow aid to flow,” noting that “37 million” people are in humanitarian crisis.

He also criticised the lack of safe routes for Sudanese refugees, saying, “The least we can do is work with other countries to ensure Sudanese refugees have safe and secure routes to the UK.”

The conference ended with participants agreeing to share its statement, raise Sudan-related issues within trade union branches and workplaces, and continue coordinating advocacy efforts.