Sudan Humanitarian Situation 2026-03-03
2026-03-03
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The question arises from the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan, particularly concerning the displaced population and the need for international intervention.
What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
When I visited the Sudan border a month ago, I promised the women that I met in the Adré camp that I would take their voice to the United Nations, and that the world needed to listen to Sudanese women, not to the military men who perpetuate this war. That is what I did two weeks ago, when I chaired a dedicated session of the United Nations Security Council, where we considered the horrendous fact-finding mission's report on El Fasher and ensured that Sudanese women's voices could be heard.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide specific steps or actions taken by the Department
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Sudan's conflict is described as a significant child protection emergency, with millions of children affected by violence.
With half of Sudan's population under 18 and millions of children growing up amid widespread violence, Sudan is confronting what many now describe as the world's largest child protection emergency. In that context, what concrete steps will the Department take to promote and defend the UN's children and armed conflict mandate, so that the protection of children in Sudan remains a sustained diplomatic priority across the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council?
I can tell my hon. Friend that we continue to champion the UN children and armed conflict mandate and its monitoring work. It is clear that children are the innocent victims of this horrendous and brutal war, and that is why the world must not look away from Sudan. It is why we need a ceasefire, it is why we need to prevent the arms flows, and it is why we need to continue the humanitarian support from across the globe.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide concrete steps but acknowledged the importance of the issue
Response accuracy
Q3
Direct Answer
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Context
There has been an alarming rise in gender-based violence and sexual abuse against women and girls in Sudan's conflict zones.
We know that conflict can dis-proportionately affect women and children and exacerbate gender-based violence. We cannot let this crisis in Sudan be ignored. There has been an alarming rise in gender-based violence and sexual abuse against women and girls. Can the Foreign Secretary tell me what further steps her Department is taking to tackle this horrific abuse against women and girls in Sudan at this time of conflict?
My hon. Friend is right; the scale of the use of rape as a weapon of war in Sudan is truly horrific. Two weeks ago, prior to the Security Council briefing, I convened an event in New York in the UN building to include four women speakers who have been working to tackle sexual violence in Sudan, and also to hear, through video testimony, from a Sudanese woman who has been working to tackle the levels of sexual violence and provide support to survivors in Chad. I have announced a new £20 million programme to support survivors of rape and sexual violence in Sudan. The voices of Sudanese women must be heard.
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Assessment & feedback
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Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner refers to evidence from Samaritan's Purse on sexual violence and the situation in refugee camps, and inquires about progress in engaging the African Union.
I hope that the Foreign Secretary will read the evidence from Samaritan's Purse to the International Development Committee last week, which reiterated the issues on sexual violence. We also heard that in refugee camps, many people have no option but to be naked because they have sold their clothes to get food. I am sure she agrees that is completely and utterly unacceptable. In her last statement, she said that she was seeking to engage with the African Union and to bring it more into participation in bringing a resolution to the conflict. Has she made any progress in that regard?
I will certainly look further at the evidence and the horrendous accounts that the right hon. Member describes. We are establishing, with international partners, a coalition for atrocity prevention and justice to work on Sudan and to work together on preventing atrocities and gathering evidence. We have been pursuing some of the findings in the UN's report on El Fasher, which talked about systematic starvation, torture, killings, rape and deliberate ethnic targeting. The right hon. Member has added a further horrendous account to that, which is why it is important not only to pursue these atrocities but to ensure that there is basic humanitarian support. That is why we are prioritising Sudan for humanitarian support as well.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide specific progress in engaging the African Union
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner refers to a UN report published on 19 February that described the events in El Fasher as bearing all the hallmarks of genocide.
The Foreign Secretary has referred to the UN report published on 19 February, which said that the horrific events in El Fasher bore all the “hallmarks of genocide”. Does she agree with that assessment?
The account in that report is truly appalling and shocking. It describes deliberate ethnic targeting of particular groups, as well as some of the most horrendous torture, and the use of rape as a weapon of conflict. The long-standing position of successive British Governments is that any formal determination on genocide is a matter for the courts. However, we should be clear that the evidence of atrocities committed by the armed forces across Sudan is staggering and horrendous, and the perpetrators must be held to account.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not formally agree or disagree with the assessment
Response accuracy