Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026

Supported by the national unions of the National Education Union (NEU), Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), University and College Union (UCU), and Equity; Hampshire County Association of Trades Union Councils; Unite the Union WM6070; Portsmouth Trades Council; Sudanese Women’s Union (UK & Ireland); United Tech & Allied Workers (UTAW); Stand Up To Racism (SUTR); Sudanese Doctors Union – UK; Doctors in Unite; Greater Manchester Mental Health UNISON Branch; Southampton Trades Union Council; Sudanese Journalists Forum – UK; Portsmouth City UNISON; Unite Community Portsmouth and District Branch; Sudanese Lawyers Democratic Front; and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

As the devastating war in Sudan continues into its third year, international solidarity has never been more urgent. Since April 2023, Sudanese communities have been caught between two rival militias—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). Although presented as a conflict between two armed groups, this war is rooted in the unfinished promises of the 2018 revolution, and in decades of colonialism, imperialist intervention, military rule, economic inequality, and class struggle.

This is a counter-revolutionary war for wealth, land and power. And its consequences have been catastrophic.

Amid the destruction, Sudanese trade unionists, resistance committees, women’s organisations, professional associations, and grassroots activists continue to organise for peace, justice, and democratic civilian rule. Their voices must be heard—and amplified.

The Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026 aims to do exactly that.

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Building Global Solidarity With the Struggle for Peace and Justice

This vital conference will bring together activists, trade unionists, academics, community organisers, and members of the Sudanese diaspora to build concrete international solidarity with those resisting war, genocide, and dictatorship.

The conference will:

• Provide a platform for anti-war voices from Sudan, especially those from trade unions, resistance committees, women’s organisations, and revolutionary movements calling for real civilian democracy.
• Demand an end to foreign governments’ support for the SAF and RSF, including diplomatic, military, and financial backing for the warring militias.
• Discuss strategies to build united solidarity against genocide in Sudan and Palestine, recognising the shared structures of violence and global complicity.
• Call for safe passage for Sudanese refugees and challenge the UK government’s toxic anti-migrant rhetoric.
• Amplify revolutionary demands for freedom, justice, equality, and the dismantling of all military and militia rule.
• Create a space for trade unionists and activists internationally to strengthen collaboration, share lessons, and coordinate campaigns.

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Key Themes

Participants will explore, debate, and organise around a range of urgent questions, including:

• Sudan’s War: Revolution, Counter-Revolution, and Imperialism
• Women on the Frontlines: Violence, Resistance, and Survival
• Grassroots Power in a Collapsing State:  Communities Organise to Survive and Resist
• Refugees, Racism, and the Struggle for Dignity
• From Palestine to Sudan: Building Solidarity: Organising Against Racism, War and Destruction

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Speakers and Full Agenda

A detailed programme—including speakers from Sudan and across the international labour and solidarity movements—will be announced shortly. Confirmed speakers include:

• John McDonnell MP
• Chipo Chung, Chair of Equity’s International Solidarity Committee
• Sudanese Lawyers Democratic Front
• Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
• AbuBakr Adam, Sudanese Journalists Forum – UK
• Weyman Bennett, co convenor of Stand Up To Racism (SUTR)
• Dr Amira Osman, Political and Public Affairs Officer, Sudanese Women’s Union (UK & Ireland)
• Maria Chondrogianni, President of the University and College Union (UCU)
• Sudanese Doctors Union – UK
• Louise Regan, Chair of the National Education Union International Committee
• Dr Luigi Pivano, SI Cobas union (Italy)
• Rania Obead & Khalid Sidahmed, MENA Solidarity Network
• Kirsten Bayes, Outreach Coordinator at Campaign Against Arms Trade and member of its Board of Directors
• Sudanese activists, trade unionists, and researchers
• International solidarity speakers from workers, anti-war, and social justice movements

Further speakers and session details will be announced shortly.

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Time	Session
10:30 am – 11.00	Doors open and networking
11.00 am – 12.00	Opening plenary: Sudan’s War: Revolution, Counter-Revolution, and Imperialism  Sudan’s 2023 war stems from the 2018 revolution for democracy and justice, after the 2021 military coup. We examine how imperialism — including the role of the British state —has shaped the conflict. The session also explores links between Sudan, Palestine, the climate crisis, and global struggles for freedom and solidarity.
12.00 – 12.15	Break
12.15 – 1.30	Workshops
	Women on the Frontlines: Violence, Resistance, and Survival  Sudanese women are key leaders in the ongoing struggle and revolution, yet face immense violence and displacement in the current war. We examine how women’s bodies have been weaponised as a tool of war, and their essential role in the fight for justice and liberation.	Grassroots Power in a Collapsing State:  Communities Organise to Survive and Resist Amid genocide, militia violence, and the destruction of war, people in both Sudan and Palestine have refused to let society collapse. The Sudanese revolution built more than 8,000 neighbourhood resistance committees, while workers led civil disobedience, general strikes, and formed escalation and salary committees. When war erupted, these same networks created emergency response rooms that now run clinics, organise schooling, distribute food, and protect communities. Meanwhile Palestinians in Gaza have continued to provide health care and education under fire. What lessons can we draw from these remarkable examples of self-organisation and solidarity?	Refugees, Racism, and the Struggle for Dignity Refugees and migrants face systemic racism from the very governments responsible for war and destruction in their home countries. They are scapegoated by the far-right media for crises caused by failed governments. How can we confront this injustice and fight for their rights, dignity, and safety?
1.30 – 2.45pm	Break + Entertainment
2.45 pm – 4.0pm	Final plenary: Building Solidarity: Organising Against Racism, War and Destruction  How can we unite struggles in Sudan and Britain against racism, war, oppression, and imperialism? What bold, grassroots strategies can strengthen campaigns for justice, dignity, and solidarity across borders?

This conference is a call to action. A call to stand with Sudan’s revolutionaries. A call to challenge imperialism, racism, and militarism. And a call to build the kind of international solidarity that can save lives and help shape a just future for Sudan and the whole movement.

Join us on 17 January. Be part of the movement for justice, peace, and revolutionary change.

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Take action:

• Book an in-person ticket for the Sudan Solidarity Conference 2026 here
• Access our Stop the War in Sudan toolkit and sign the postcard addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging the British government to support the Sudanese people.
• Share this motion with your union branch and advocate for its adoption: Model Motion – Stand with Sudan: Stop the War, Support the People
• Read our analysis, “The Illusion of Choice: Why People Should Reject Both Sides of the War in Sudan”, for essential background on the warring factions and the revolutionary alternative.
• Download / order our newly released “Sudan’s Revolutionary and Popular Movements: a research report”. 
• Book your ticket for the new film “Sudan, remember us” at a screening near you.

Download resources:

• Sudan Update July 2025 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Sudan’s Militia War on the People’ Sudan Update April 2025 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Reject both sides in Sudan’s war’ Sudan Update February 2025 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Famine is the new war’ Sudan Update September 2024 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Stopping Sudan’s hidden war’ Sudan Update March 2024 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Why is there a war in Sudan?’ Sudan Update May 2023 – download the leaflet >>here
• ‘Stop the war in Sudan’ Sudan Update April 2023 – download the leaflet >>here
• Stop the war in Sudan / Refugees welcome A4 poster – download >>here