Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Sudan

Tuesday 25 February 2025 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Sudanese armed forces have advanced into El-Obeid, ending a two-year siege by the Rapid Support Forces, causing serious food shortages in North Kordofan.
  • The UK Government led efforts to renew the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission mandate in Sudan last October.
  • The UK has increased aid and is working to increase international attention on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kate Osamor Labour (Co-op) Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
Foreign Affairs
Context

Sudanese armed forces advanced into El-Obeid, ending a two-year siege by the Rapid Support Forces. This caused serious food shortages in North Kordofan state.

Question

In recent days, Sudanese armed forces have advanced into El-Obeid, ending a two-year siege by the Rapid Support Forces. This has caused serious food shortages in North Kordofan, which is deemed to be suffering famine conditions under the integrated food security phase classification. What are the Government doing to ensure that aid is fast-tracked into the city?

Answer from The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue, because the situation she has described is intolerable. I was grateful to the international counterparts who attended a discussion on these subjects, in which we took part, at the Munich security conference. My hon. Friend referred to the famine designation. We regret the fact that the Sudanese armed forces have said that they will not co-operate with that assessment, but we have seen both the RSF and the SAF restricting aid and using it as a weapon of war, and that must end.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide concrete actions for fast-tracking aid into El-Obeid.

How: Regret, Must End

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Q2 Munira Wilson Lib Dem Twickenham
NHS Foreign Affairs
Context

Genocide80Twenty campaign group at Hampton school met members of the Darfur diaspora who fled atrocities in Sudan, raising concerns about the impact of US aid cuts.

Question

The Genocide80Twenty campaign group at Hampton school in my constituency recently met members of the Darfur diaspora who have fled the atrocities in Sudan, and they would like to know what the UK Government are doing to help those targeted simply for who they are. With a staggering 16 million children desperately needing food, shelter, healthcare and education, could I ask the Minister for assurances that we will not see any cuts to UK aid to the region, and what assessment has she made of the impact of the Trump Administration’s cuts to US aid?

Answer from The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)

The hon. Member is right to raise the disturbing accounts of atrocities that we have heard. She will be pleased to know that the UK led efforts to renew the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission mandate last October, and I was very pleased to see additional African countries coming on board with that. We have doubled our aid to Sudan, so that commitment is not in doubt.

Answered
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Q3 Afzal Khan Lab Manchester Rusholme
Foreign Affairs
Context

Sudan’s civil war, now in its third year, has triggered one of the worst humanitarian crises of the decade with 5.1 million internally displaced people and 1.3 million refugees since April 2023.

Question

I welcome the Government pushing a ceasefire in Sudan and doubling aid. Sudan’s civil war, now in its third year, has triggered one of the worst humanitarian crises of the decade, with 5.1 million internally displaced people and 1.3 million refugees since April 2023, and famine is now looming. Given this, will the Minister outline what urgent steps the Government are taking with their international counterparts to help de-escalate the conflict in Sudan?

Answer from The Minister for Development (Anneliese Dodds)

Ending the conflict in Sudan, and the appalling consequences of it, is a UK priority. Both the Foreign Secretary and I have visited the region, including Chad and South Sudan. We have increased aid, and we have been determined to increase international attention. That includes the April conference to which the Foreign Secretary referred, but I also convened Development Ministers from a number of countries a few days ago, with the emergency relief co-ordinator, to try to pile on the pressure.

Answered
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