The UK continues to work on access issues for aid provision and has initiated a friends of Sudan grouping in Geneva. International law emphasises prevention, and we continue efforts through the UN Security Council.

We continue to use our role as penholder on Sudan in the UN Security Council, join multilateral institutions like the African Union, and work through new friends of Sudan grouping in Geneva.

The UK remains committed to securing accountability for breaches of international humanitarian law. We attended the Brussels consultative group meeting and contribute to discussions with the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy on Sudan.

We are working closely with Africa Union countries as this issue pertains primarily to them. The Foreign Secretary has redoubled efforts within African Union dialogues and joined an EU-convened consultative group on Sudan in June. We will continue pressing for a peaceful solution among all involved parties.

The UK's support includes providing direct cash assistance through the Mercy Corps-led Cash Consortium of Sudan, addressing de-banking situations in conflict zones. This ensures vital aid is delivered to those most in need.

The UK funds support services for gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence. Longer-term programmes tackle female genital mutilation and empower women and girls.

I encourage my hon. Friend's staff to use the MP hotline for consular advice and reassurance for their communities.

We work bilaterally with key countries and multilaterally to maintain our leadership role. We redouble efforts to keep Sudan in focus through media coverage.

My hon. Friend's prior experience in this area is noted, and I take her point as an action from today’s dialogue.

The UK will continue to engage with all members of the Security Council, including those not aligned politically, to maintain pressure and seek a peaceful resolution.

The Minister thanked Brian Mathew for his work as an aid worker in Darfur. She noted that £120 million has been allocated towards addressing the crisis and highlighted the importance of maintaining relationships with ground-level organisations.

Catherine West thanked Rachael Maskell for her work as the chair of the APPG for Sudan and South Sudan. She stated that the UK is not protecting any country involved in the conflict and emphasised compliance with existing UN sanctions regimes.

The Minister thanked Jim Shannon for his work on freedom of religion or belief and offered to share his thoughts with her colleague, David Smith, to work together on addressing religious persecution.

Catherine West thanked John Slinger for his work and stated that the UK is using its position on the UN Security Council to engage extensively through diplomatic means to encourage all parties to come to the table.

The Minister thanked Ben Lake for his interest in development and highlighted ongoing work with partners from the London conference, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, South Sudan, Chad, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda.

Catherine West thanked Chris Bloore for his important question. She mentioned that since 2023, the UK has frozen assets of nine commercial entities linked to the conflict and sanctioned two generals for crimes against civilians.

The Minister thanked Ayoub Khan for his comments and mentioned recent joint efforts with partners from the US, Saudi Arabia, African Union, and League of Arab States.

Catherine West acknowledged the severe situation in Sudan but did not provide a specific response regarding raising awareness.

The hon. Member is absolutely right to talk about the importance not just of our bilateral meetings, but of working at that multilateral level. At the same time, we need to provide support in that important area of gathering facts as we go along, because the fog of war can prevent that. Let me give one example. The UK provided £989,000 to the Sudan Witness project started by the Centre of Information Resilience, which investigates attacks against civilians and works with Sudanese civil society organisations as well as the United Nations fact-finding mission to support evidence gathering and accountability.

My hon. Friend is right to say that the reports coming out of Darfur are horrifying. Some of the violence has shown the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing and may amount to crimes against humanity. The Foreign Secretary heard this at first hand from survivors when he was in Adre in January. Irrespective of any determinations in the International Criminal Court, we know that we will strongly and always support its active investigation into the situation in Darfur, including allegations of crimes committed since April 2023.