Sudan

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The shadow minister questioned the Minister's assessment of remaining British nationals and residents still in Sudan, expressing concern over their safety. She also raised issues regarding initial evacuation delays compared to other countries and the prioritization of diplomatic personnel evacuations.

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The MP inquired about the current status of evacuations and the risks involved with maintaining a presence at Port Sudan. He also asked for details on international aid efforts and their coordination.

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The shadow Development Minister thanks the minister for comments and raises questions on efficacy of evacuation, communications with citizens, speed of evacuation compared to allies, lessons learned from Afghanistan, future diplomatic presence, humanitarian spend, and the impact of illicit trade.

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The MP thanks for the evacuation efforts and mentions concerns over RSF actions rejecting democratic transition. She asks about meaningful action to bring them back within the process and requests investigation into funding of RSF press office.

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Asked for details on UK assistance to humanitarian agencies and an estimate of remaining UK nationals in Sudan, expressed concern over the number of UK citizens compared to others and questioned about safe legal routes for refugees.

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Asked if the Wagner Group’s links with the Rapid Support Forces played a role in the uprising, and whether humanitarian aid should focus on surrounding countries.

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Asked for assistance in evacuating a constituent's family members from Sudan, including a heavily pregnant woman and an elderly man.

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Asked for updates on UN and neighbouring states’ actions regarding refugees, and about the scale of the problem.

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Asked if there was a need to review policy on evacuating British residents with legal leave to remain after difficulties in Afghanistan and during the pandemic.

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Asked about UK efforts to encourage more humanitarian aid for border regions where refugees are heading.

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Asked about reports of an agreed seven-day ceasefire starting on Thursday from South Sudan's Foreign Ministry.

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Emphasised the strategic importance of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for operations in the eastern Mediterranean.

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Asked about delays in evacuating NHS workers from Sudan and called for a review of decision-making processes.

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I am aware of a number of Westminster residents who are still stuck in Sudan, scattered across the country, having not been able to get to Khartoum to secure passage on one of the flights out. Can my right hon. Friend advise on what further steps the Foreign Office can take to evacuate British nationals and UK work permit holders who are still stuck in Sudan and want to leave?

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Of course, the Minister is right: focus must remain on ending the horrific violence that continues to see the death of innocent men, women and children, and we must continue to play a leading role in securing international humanitarian aid in one of the poorest countries in the world. Like my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (John Spellar), many of the cases that I am dealing with involve the immediate family of constituents who hold a valid visa for entry to and residence in the UK and who normally reside in the UK but have not been allocated space on a UK evacuation flight. I have a great deal of respect for the Minister, but he has remained largely silent on that point. What arrangements are in place to allow the safe passage of those residents from Sudan back to the UK, including any agreements with surrounding countries for safe routes of travel back to the UK?

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I thank and pay tribute to the FCDO and the Ministry of Defence for their successful and expeditious non-combatant evacuation operation from Sudan. As any student of military history will know, no responsible Government can write a blank cheque for the evacuation of civilians from a high-threat environment, particularly somewhere as dangerous as Khartoum, sadly. Will the Minister confirm that a full threat assessment will be conducted before the decision is taken to put British forces back into Khartoum?

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May I beg the Minister for help with two constituency cases? One is an 11-month-old boy whose father is a constituent of mine and whose mother is Sudanese. Understandably, they do not want to travel without being guaranteed that they will all get on that flight together, so they have not. Another is a two-year-old child whose mother is British and whose father is Sudanese. They all want to get visas so that they can travel together. Does he understand that separation is not an option for them and that, without the Home Office in particular applying some cool-headed common sense, which we have shown we can do with Ukraine, we risk failing these very small children who should be and are citizens of this country?

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I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for the statement. As he says, though, the situation on the ground remains extremely dangerous. I have been contacted by my constituent Dr Hanaa Yahya, who is understandably extremely concerned that her brother—a UK passport holder—and her elderly mother are still stuck in Sudan, her mother having been denied evacuation.

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Afrah Adam Ahimir Essa, the wife of my constituent Abdeen Mohammed, was issued with her family reunion visa by the Home Office on 2 March, but she has not been able to leave Sudan. I fully understand the importance of a ceasefire, but what advice and assistance can the Minister offer my constituent and his wife at what must be an incredibly frightening time?

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I put on record my thanks to all those who helped so much with the humanitarian evacuation from Sudan, because they have obviously performed the best they could, although there are still issues to be resolved. I hear what the Minister says about a ceasefire, and obviously a ceasefire would be very welcome—the longer the ceasefire, the better—but a ceasefire is not peace, and it is not a permanent situation. Is the Minister confident that the intervention of the African Union and the UN will actually address all the underlying issues in Sudan that have brought about this polarised military conflict that has been so devastating for so many desperately poor people, and that we will hopefully see a long-term peace and a completely democratic and civilian Government?

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There have been many reports of rape and sexual violence during the conflict in Sudan. Can the Minister advise the House on what steps the Government are taking to enable proper support for survivors and evidence-gathering by specialists to make accountability possible?

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The Rapid Support Forces in Sudan were formed out of the Janjaweed, the militia responsible for many of the atrocities in the 2003 Darfur genocide. As the RSF has many of the same leaders as the Janjaweed, there is a real risk of atrocity crimes, including sexual violence. Does the FCDO have an atrocity and genocide prevention strategy for Sudan, and what steps are being taken to monitor and prevent potential atrocity crimes?