Protection Brief Sudan, August 2025

Operational Context & Analysis

Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, the conflict that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 continues to fuel one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, one marked by extreme violence, widespread human rights violations, and mass displacement.

The conflict has been characterized by sexual violence, torture, arbitrary arrests, and targeted attacks based on ethnicity or displacement status, among other brutal abuses. In this devastating environment, refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees face heightened risks. These threshold risks are compounded by secondary displacement, restrictive policies, and sharply limited access to basic rights and services.

The dynamics of displacement are complex and shifting : As of August 2025,1, an estimated 13 million people were internally displaced (IDPs), with 8.6 million displaced since the conflict began. A further 3.8 million had been forced to flee across borders, the majority of whom are refugees and asylum-seekers. Approximately half of the internally displaced are living within host communities while the rest are in gathering sites in dire humanitarian conditions.

A change in conflict dynamics in late 2024 led to a decline in armed clashes in areas like Al Jazirah, Khartoum, and Sennar. This prompted a significant wave of returns. By August 2025, IOM reported a 15% reduction in displacement figures since January 2025, attributed to the return of nearly 1.7 million IDPs. This trend is also visible among Sudanese refugees spontaneously returning from neighboring countries like Egypt and South Sudan, though often under adverse conditions. While the increase in returns is a positive development, serious concerns remain about the safety, dignity, and long-term sustainability of these returns, as many areas lack basic services and security remains fragile.

The crisis, too, is far from over. Intensified offensives in Darfur and Kordofan continue to fuel violence and displacement. Critical humanitarian access is severely restricted, with no aid reaching the besieged city of El Fasher. The consequences are catastrophic with famine declared in several areas, alongside outbreaks of epidemic diseases. Damaged infrastructure has crippled access to healthcare and education for millions, while disrupted agriculture and supply chains have led to a steady socio-economic decline, rising poverty, and increased vulnerability, exacerbated by weather related disasters. According to the 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, over half the population—including 16 million children—urgently require humanitarian assistance.

Sudan remains a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and reaffirmed its commitment to refugee protection through eight pledges made in conjunction with the Global Refugee Forum in 2019, the first of which emphasized its open-door policy.2 As of August 2025, Sudan was hosting over 859,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, with new arrivals continuing to come from South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. However, the conflict has resulted in severe deterioration of the protection environment. A government decree from March 2024 has led to stricter punitive measures against undocumented refugees and asylum seekers, including arrests, detention, and deportation. From April-August 2025, over 2,500 refugees were forcibly relocated from Khartoum to camps. UNHCR advocates for all relocations to be voluntary, safe, and to respect family unity.

Women and children bear the brunt of the conflict. Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) is widely reported, and children face heightened risks of violence, recruitment, trafficking, child marriage and family separation. The collapse of education services has disrupted learning for 12.6 million children, leaving youth vulnerable to exploitation. These protection gaps are critical and require targeted intervention, such as awareness raising on children’s rights and establishing and reinforcing child protection mechanisms.

Despite the challenges, UNHCR remains operational in Sudan, delivering life-saving protection and assistance. We are present in accessible areas and collaborate with local partners to conduct community outreach and referrals for specialized help in regions like Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum where access has been severely impeded. UNHCR, in collaboration with the Commissioner for Refugees and in line with the Refugee Coordination Model, leads an inclusive refugee response. Protection priorities include registration, documentation, Refugee Status Determination (RSD) support, identification of individuals at heightened risk, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, and strengthening local protection capacities. UNHCR is also working with partners to deliver urgent assistance to vulnerable spontaneous returnees. The broader response remains multi-sectoral, combining life-saving protection and assistance with growing efforts to coordinate development and humanitarian actors and responses from the onset of an emergency, and designed to enhance refugees’ self-reliance and reduce dependency on aid.

Moving forward, our joint efforts must be strengthened to advance inclusion, self-reliance, and resilience for all displaced populations, and promote opportunities for long-lasting, sustainable solutions, in line with our commitments under the Global Compact on Refugees.

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