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Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on UK Government actions on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Chris Elmore)
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this urgent question.
The thoughts of the whole House will be with those affected by the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack on Bondi beach yesterday. The Foreign Secretary will address this further at the start of her statement, which follows this UQ.
Sudan is experiencing the most severe humanitarian crisis of the 21st century: 30 million people need lifesaving aid, 12 million people have fled their homes, and women and children are bearing the brunt of the violence. The drone strike on the UN peacekeeping base in Kadugli on Saturday was deplorable and exemplifies how the war is being fought with little regard for civilian life and international law. The strike killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers, and our thoughts are with their families. The British high commission Dhaka has released a statement offering the Government’s heartfelt condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives and wishing a swift recovery to all those who were injured. The perpetrators must be held to account.
On Friday, the UK announced a package of sanctions targeting four senior commanders from the Rapid Support Forces involved in the horrendous violence in El Fasher. The Government will do all they can to exert pressure on those responsible for these atrocities. The Foreign Secretary is working with her counterparts on three priorities: first, protecting civilians; secondly, strengthening humanitarian access; and thirdly, securing an immediate ceasefire and a political process to end the conflict.
The war in Sudan was a priority for the Foreign Secretary on her visit to Washington DC last week, where she discussed these issues with Secretary of State Rubio and senior adviser Boulos. Last week, we stepped up our response to the crisis with an additional £21 million, taking the UK contribution to £146 million this year. UK funding will reach more than 800,000 people with lifesaving aid. That is in addition to our efforts as penholder for Sudan at the United Nations Security Council to call out atrocities committed and press for unimpeded humanitarian access.
On 8 December, the UK led the UN Security Council consultations on the violence in Kordofan where members heard from senior UN officials on worsening conditions and access challenges. The UK will convene the Security Council again tomorrow to discuss mediation efforts. We are urgently pressing for a three-month humanitarian truce and will do all we can to support and help drive these peace efforts forward alongside the Quad. All those with influence over the warring parties must work to stop the suffering, and that must include ending external support for the conflict in line with the Quad statement on 12 September. The Foreign Secretary has been clear that the UK will use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to agree a cessation of hostilities and a sustainable end to this conflict that delivers peace for the Sudanese people.
Seamus Logan
I thank the Minister for his statement and thank the Speaker for granting this urgent question. In fewer than two months, since the RSF captured El Fasher on 26 October, the city has been consumed by a killing spree—a series of appalling international war crimes. We have seen reports of relentless assassinations of innocent civilians, with accounts of parents forced to watch the killing of their children; systematic sexual violence, including gang rape; and satellite imagery exposing bloodstained ground and piles of civilian bodies. Current estimates suggest that 60,000 innocent civilians have been killed, with as many as 150,000 people missing since the takeover. Those numbers are likely to be underestimates.
Recent sanctions on senior figures in the RSF are welcome, but there are areas where I would ask the Government to go further. There have been cuts to the UK’s overseas development assistance from 0.5% to 0.3%. In addition, recent reports suggest that the work of the atrocity prevention team at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is being reduced, and the team that previously monitored global atrocities is being cut. The UK Government refused to contribute to an atrocity prevention programme in Sudan, even after the risk of genocide and mass atrocities became clear. That is indefensible. I want to hear from the Minister why that decision was made.
Although the announcement of an additional £21 million in aid for Sudan is welcome, consistently funded development and prevention aid for relevant countries could prevent the UK from forking out millions when future atrocities occur. Today’s displaced people are tomorrow’s asylum seekers. Will the UK Government reinstate overseas development aid to Sudan and reconsider their contribution to international atrocity programmes?
British-manufactured weapons—allegedly supplied by the United Arab Emirates—are reportedly still being used by the RSF to conduct horrific massacres. Will the UK Government take action on that and pledge to prevent British weapons from falling into the hands of the RSF?
It feels as if the UK Government are not giving the genocide in Sudan the time in this Chamber that it deserves. They have chosen to update the House on Sudan alone on only one occasion. I therefore ask the Secretary of State to commit to updating the House on the Government’s actions in relation to Sudan through a ministerial statement early in the new year.
Chris Elmore
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his further questions. He is not correct about ODA cuts for Sudan. The Prime Minister has already committed to that funding continuing over the next three years, so it is not correct to say that there will be ODA cuts for Sudan.
We continue to support the International Criminal Court’s active investigation of the situation in Sudan. In relation to arms, I say to the House that we take very seriously allegations that UK-made equipment may have been transferred to Sudan, in breach of the UK’s arms embargo. There is no evidence in recent reporting of UK weapons or ammunition being used in Sudan.
In terms of reporting to the House, the Foreign Secretary answered substantive questions on Sudan at the beginning of this month and made a statement at the end of last month. It is notable that the hon. Gentleman was not here for those questions.
Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Government’s sanctioning of senior commanders in the RSF, but the Minister will be aware of the genuine fears about further barbaric escalation in the run-up to Christmas. He rightly talked about the appalling killing of peacekeepers, but in the past couple of days a hospital has been shelled, and there are huge concerns about the insecure situation of refugees, particularly in Tawila. What is the Government’s timeline for further measures to try to force the belligerents to protect civilians, as a matter of extreme urgency?
Chris Elmore
I know how much my right hon. Friend cares about this issue, particularly as she was a development Minister last year. Tomorrow, the UK will co-host with Denmark a closed informal interactive dialogue at the United Nations Security Council. It will address the urgent need to harmonise regional international mediation efforts to bring about the much-needed humanitarian ceasefire.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
Millions continue to suffer in Sudan. It is clear that red lines are constantly being crossed. The world is witnessing unspeakable horrors and barbaric atrocities. The situation in El Fasher is of grave concern. No one in this House or the country can comprehend the level of barbarity in the acts that have been taken.
We Conservatives have been calling for further sanctions on the warring parties, and we note the additional measures announced by the Government last week. That does represent progress, but it is important now that momentum builds and follows. I acknowledge what the Minister said about the closed session at the UN tomorrow. Can we expect to see more rounds of sanctions? It is vital that the sanctions directorate at the FCDO works around the clock to identify the culprits—be they individuals or organisations—and holds them to account.
What contribution is the UK making to the urgent UN inquiry into El Fasher, and what further steps will the Government take? What direct engagement has the Minister had with the Sudan Quad on finding a diplomatic solution, and to pressure those with influence over the warring parties to agree a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to flow in, and to stop committing atrocities? Is the UK involved in the international processes, like Cairo, to develop and build confidence with the Sudanese political civilian forces? That is crucial for facilitating a transition to a civilian-led Government.
As we have heard, the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, so will the Minister explain how the latest aid package will be delivered and by which organisations, and say how those who are in desperate need will receive it? How will the Government ensure that shifting frontlines and potential new challenges and blockages to aid delivery are addressed, and what is their assessment of the humanitarian assistance that we have already given? Has it been reaching those in need, and what is the timescale for the dispatch of new aid? Will the Minister update the House on whether there has been any progress since the Sudan summit in London earlier this year when it comes to the support and pledges made by other countries? What discussions are the Government holding with partners who could be deploying urgent relief and assistance in light of this ongoing and growing crisis?
Chris Elmore
I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for her opening remarks and questions. She is right to say that there should be no politics in this. We all want to see an end to the unimaginable suffering that is taking place in Sudan, and as was mentioned by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan), the idea that we can see that from satellite imagery shows its unimaginable scale.
On sanctions, we will not rule anything out and we will keep the issue under constant review following the announcement on Friday—that was the second round of sanctions that the Government have issued in relation to Sudan. We are continuing to work with all members of the Quad, and we want to be as clear as we can be that all sides must come together in ensuring what will hopefully be a humanitarian pause, and more broadly a wider ceasefire.
On the specific points about support for refugees and people on the ground in Sudan, the funding so far has supported over 1 million people, including 98,000 children, in tackling severe malnutrition; in food assistance for 744,000 people; in vital protection for services for 350,000 people in relation to victims of international humanitarian law violations; and indeed in cash assistance. I am confident that the money is reaching the people it needs to reach. On more support, the additional £20 million—or the £146 million—is about aid directly on the ground and supporting 800,000 people. Some of that is supporting refugees in Chad and other countries that people are moving to, but fundamentally it is about support.
We are absolutely working on the wider points about work in the multilateral space with the United Nations. This is a personal priority for the Foreign Secretary, and she is in pretty much constant dialogue with Secretary Rubio, including last week. Baroness Chapman, the Minister for Africa in the other place, is in regular dialogue with African near neighbours, and she is having broader conversations to ensure that we find a humanitarian ceasefire and the broader ceasefire that is so desperately needed.
Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)
The Minister has just mentioned doing all we can to exert pressure, but with all due respect to him, I think we need to be doing far more than exerting pressure. As UN penholder for Sudan, the UK has a moral responsibility to ensure that the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing is brought to an end as soon as possible. Most importantly, we must end all arms trade with the UAE, because it is evident that UK arms are ending up in Sudan.
Chris Elmore
On arms exports, the UK has one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world. All export licences are assessed for the risk of diversion, and we regularly prevent exports that might be diverted to an undesirable end user or end use. As I have said, in recent reviews that has not been deemed the case from any other nation. On our role on the Human Rights Council and the Security Council, I agree with my hon. Friend: we do have a moral imperative, and that is exactly our approach. This is a personal mission for the Foreign Secretary. She convened the emergency meeting of the Human Rights Council, and the meeting of the Security Council was brought forward. The UK, as penholder, has been at the very forefront of trying to end these most appalling atrocities against the Sudanese people.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
I welcome the Government’s sanctions on the RSF. Those are long overdue, given that the US imposed sanctions in January and the EU have gone wider. Why has the UK left out RSF leader Hemedti? Why has the UK left out the Sudanese armed forces who are bombing civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war? It is widely reported that the UAE is arming the RSF, yet the UK continues to supply arms to the UAE. The Minister will know that selling arms where there is a risk that those states are arming actors who commit atrocities is in contravention of the UK’s obligations under international humanitarian law and its own strategic export licensing criteria, whether or not UK arms are being diverted. Why is the UK still arming the UAE?
I am deeply worried about the advances by the RSF in Kordofan, and there are real fears of another El Fasher. What are the UK Government doing to prevent atrocities of that scale? Humanitarian access remains severely constrained. What are the Government doing to open up access? Finally, has the Prime Minister spoken this month to the US President about the Sudan crisis? The Sudan appeal is still just 27% funded, and although I welcome the Government’s additional £21 million of funding, will they pledge further to this crisis?
Chris Elmore
As I said in answer to the shadow Foreign Secretary, we do not rule out any further sanctions and we will take evidence-based decisions on what has meaningful impact. On the UK Government’s response, as I have already said, the UK is at the forefront of the process at both the Security Council and the Human Rights Council. I reiterate that we take very seriously any allegations of UK-made equipment being used in this regard in relation to Sudan, but there is no evidence of that in recent reporting. In fact, where any weapons have been found, they have been of no ammunition or military purpose. They have been non-lethal supplies, which I am afraid is the issue in front of us.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
People in Newcastle-under-Lyme are watching this crisis unfold with horror, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) on securing this urgent question. I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box—it is the first time I have seen him—but I must say that an oral ministerial statement would have been welcomed. What specific engagement has taken place with the African Union not just on securing a much-needed peace, but on the distribution of aid? What co-ordinating role is the United Kingdom playing with our European counterparts, because the world cannot sit by and watch this any longer?
Chris Elmore
We are working with the African Union as best we can on ensuring that aid is delivered. There was a statement on 18 November, and there were oral questions to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at the beginning of the month. The fast pace of this work in Sudan, as a personal priority for the Foreign Secretary, means that it is under constant review and dialogue with various partners, including as recently as last week with US Secretary of State Rubio.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) on securing this urgent question. Although there have been two recent sanctions—[Interruption.] All right, four, if we add in the other two. In reality there are 21 other Sudanese, many of them RSF, operating here in the United Kingdom. They are well known to the authorities, they are involved in the financing of this, but they have not been sanctioned. Is it not the reality that this fighting is still going on, with the brutality of the RSF, because the UAE finances and supports what they are doing? Without UAE involvement, there would be no further war. When will the Government turn around, notwithstanding ideas of wanting to get business contacts in the UAE, and start placing Magnitsky sanctions on individuals in the UAE until it stops financing this brutal war?
Chris Elmore
The right hon. Gentleman will know from his time in government and opposition that we do not comment on individuals in relation to specific sanctions, but I confirm to the House that we will not rule out any additional sanctions. On the work of the Quad, the statement on 12 September is a significant development, and we remain completely focused on pushing for the humanitarian pause, the wider ceasefire, and supporting the Sudanese-led political transition. It is for all sides as part of that Quad to ensure that they can do that work—[Interruption.] The right hon. Gentleman pushes me on sanctions for UAE. As he knows, we do not comment on individual sanctions decisions. He is an experienced Member of the House, and he knows that. We will keep this matter under constant review, and keep working with the Quad towards the cessation of violence.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
We know that health workers have been targeted and killed, that 80% of health facilities are no longer functioning and that a generation have not received vaccines. We have seen this happen not only in Sudan, but in other conflicts. Rather than being reactionary or using the law retrospectively, what proactive measures are the Foreign Office taking to secure vital humanitarian structures such as healthcare and ensure that they are in place, and to ensure that countries are held to account in real time?
Chris Elmore
As I mentioned, we support the work of the International Criminal Court and its investigation is happening in real time. On healthcare, the humanitarian aid will help to support people through malnutrition and the wider healthcare challenges that they face because of the horrific situation in Sudan.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
When the House debated the conflict in Sudan on 4 November, we heard that some British arms and equipment had been found on battlefields in Sudan, and it was alleged that the RSF has been provided with arms by the UAE, which in turn is supplied by the UK. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra), said:
“The UK has one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world.”—[Official Report, 4 November 2025; Vol. 774, c. 888.]
We have heard exactly the same line repeated today. Rather than repeating these lines, will the Minister tell the House what discussions have taken place with the UAE since 4 November about UK arms exports to the UAE?
Chris Elmore
As I have set out to the House, there is no evidence in recent reporting of UK weapons or ammunition being used in Sudan.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Minister for responding and I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for securing this important urgent question. It is important for us to keep the focus on Sudan. Islamic Relief recently held an exhibition in my constituency entitled “Are your eyes on Sudan?” I am sure the organisation would be ready to welcome and host the Minister to show him the range of images and pictures. I attended a similar exhibition earlier this year, hosted by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) and organised by Waging Peace, which included images drawn by children of their parents, brothers and sisters being raped. Rape is being used as a weapon of war in this conflict. Will the Minister set out how we are working with our international partners to stamp that out, and how we are ensuring that vital humanitarian aid gets to the vulnerable women and children who are caught up in this horrific conflict?
Chris Elmore
I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the most horrific element of this conflict. It appears that sexual violence against women and girls, and in some cases boys, is increasingly a part of all conflicts across the globe. We have utterly condemned the significant escalation of conflict-related sexual violence throughout Sudan at the United Nations Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council and via two joint statements of the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. I would be glad to come and see the exhibition. I have seen some of the imagery and it is genuinely distressing, but it is important that we keep a focus on the Sudanese people, as they are the victims of this horrific conflict.
Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)
As the Minister said, the UK is the penholder on Sudan at the UN. There clearly need to be comprehensive arms embargos and sanctions against those actors who are fuelling the violence in Sudan. Given that one of those is Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will the Minister ensure that the Government refer the matter to the General Assembly, where a veto cannot be used?
Chris Elmore
I am more than happy to look at any position at a multilateral level that supports the people of Sudan and brings a cessation of violence as quickly as possible, whether at the UN General Assembly, the Security Council or the Human Rights Council, as part of ongoing work across the multilateral space.
Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)
I welcome the additional aid and sanctions, and I praise my constituents who have done so much to keep Sudan in the public eye. What lessons have been learned from the fall of El Fasher to prevent the RSF repeating its tried and tested pattern in Tawila, where approximately 650,000 civilians and 300 aid workers, including British citizens, are at grave risk?
Chris Elmore
I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. Prevention work is ongoing to try to avoid further horrendous scenes. This conflict is ongoing and we are doing our very best at the UN level, across the European Union and working with the African Union to ensure that these conflicts do not continue and that we learn lessons as soon as possible.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
For the UK Government to decline to take part in the atrocity prevention programme in Sudan is regrettable, and for the UK Government to fail in their due diligence on arms export diversions via the UAE to the RSF is disgraceful, but for the UK Government to have done both looks alarmingly like ambivalence or even complicity. The Minister wants to take us around the houses in saying that the evidential basis for UK arms being in Sudan is not there—let us not do that again—but can he tell us what discussions he has had with the UAE on the sound, robust basis for saying that without the UAE, these atrocities would not be happening?
Chris Elmore
I appreciate that colleagues from across the House care deeply about this particular point, but I cannot go beyond the clear evidence in front of us: there is no evidence in recent reporting of UK weapons and ammunitions being used in Sudan. Where anything has been found, it is in non-lethal supplies—that is the reality about what has been found. We take the allegations in the reviews seriously and we have one of the most robust and transparent systems. It is simply not the case that those weapons have been found to have been made in Britain.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. I urge colleagues to keep their questions short.
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
I welcome the additional funding and the sanctions that the Minister has updated us on. There is currently a rapid escalation of violence in the Kordofan region, with a repeat of the tactics seen in El Fasher, including siege and sexual violence. What will the Minister do to protect civilians and prevent future atrocities in the Kordofan region?
Chris Elmore
We are working at pace in the international multilateral space to do our very best to bring about a cessation of violence, even if it is over a short period, and we are working with the Quad to ensure that we bring about a permanent ceasefire.
Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)
Clearly, the No.1 priority is to achieve a ceasefire in Sudan, but peace needs to be secured. Will the UK Government, as the UN penholder, organise and host a Lancaster House-style peace conference for all the parties to the conflict, with civilians represented by the head of the previous civilian Government, Abdalla Hamdok?
Chris Elmore
As I have mentioned, tomorrow we will co-host, with Denmark, the closed United Nations Security Council informal interactive dialogue. As a Government, we will continue to do all we can to bring about the cessation of violence. If we can do any additional work on negotiating peace, of course we will play our part in that.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for securing the urgent question. We know that over 10 million people have already been displaced, more than half of them children. We know that children are trapped in hard-to-reach places and that access to food is cut off. Just last week, 63 children were killed in an attack on a kindergarten in South Kordofan. What action can be taken to support these children and their families? They are malnourished and traumatised and have had no education for the duration of the conflict.
Chris Elmore
My hon. Friend raises such an important point. In a previous answer, I spoke about the 98,000 children who we are supporting to tackle malnutrition. I reassure her that we are working with organisations like UNICEF to ensure that we are getting support to children on the ground. Conflict is horrific in all its forms, but there is no worse conflict than that against children, and it must be called out and stopped.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
Will this country be more robust with the UAE on its financial support for the RSF, the clear supply of weapons to the RSF, which have come from somewhere around the world, and the interesting similarity between the areas occupied by the RSF and those where there is a massive supply of minerals and oil that will be available to it in the future? Is this not just a grab for the natural resources of Sudan being undertaken by the RSF on behalf of bigger actors around the world?
Chris Elmore
We continue to work with the US-led Quad effort, which includes the UAE, to ensure that we bring about a sustainable humanitarian pause and a broader ceasefire. We continue to work with all countries to bring about the cessation of violence as quickly as possible.
Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)
Taking into account the Minister’s previous answers about the source of weapons, and given that civilians are being deliberately targeted, with murder, rape and starvation being used as weapons of war, what steps can the UK Government realistically take to disrupt the flow of weapons, drones and military support to the violent actors who are committing such hideous crimes?
Chris Elmore
The best and most robust work we can do is to use our robust and transparent export control regime around the world. We are able to be nimble in ending exports where we find any undesirable end user, and that work will continue, not just in Sudan but in other conflicts around the world.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
I do not want to labour the point, but whether or not UK arms are being used by the UAE in Sudan is not relevant. It would be horrendous if they were, but the Minister has repeatedly said that they are not being used. Nevertheless, everyone seems to accept that UAE arms are being used, so I repeat the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord): what meetings has the Minister had with the UAE, since the last debate, to discuss whether it is arming the people of Sudan?
Chris Elmore
External support to the SAF and the RSF only fuels the conflict. We continue to emphasise to all parties the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict. We ask that all those with influence over the warring parties bring them to the negotiating table to seek a political resolution.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned recently of escalating drone strikes across Darfur and Kordofan and, as the Minister said, six peacekeepers lost their lives in a drone attack on Saturday. It is of course the humans controlling the weapons who must stop, but there is a live conversation about this issue and organisations have called for new legally binding rules to offer legal certainty and stability around the use of drones and autonomous weapons systems. What is the Minister’s assessment of those systems? What conversations are the UK Government leading at the UN?
Chris Elmore
We are alarmed by the use of drones to attack civilians. We are particularly concerned about the recent attack, which my hon. Friend mentioned and to which I referred in my opening remarks, that killed peacekeepers and may have involved drones. Our export controls on arms are strict and include military drones, and we are working as best we can to ensure that external actors refrain from fuelling the conflict and work together to secure peace, and particularly to try to introduce mitigations on the use of drones. We continue to work on all possible options in the multilateral space as the penholder at the UN.
Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)
I am pleased to hear the Minister confirm that the Government are supporting the work of the International Criminal Court’s investigations of the commanders implicated in the atrocities. Will he reassure us that the Government will waste no time in bringing further sanctions against individuals when charges are brought, and encourage international partners to do likewise?
Chris Elmore
As I have mentioned, we do not provide a running commentary on individual sanctions, but I assure the hon. Gentleman and the House that we will keep this matter under constant review.
Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) on securing the urgent question. Major aid cuts have happened, and a peacebuilding programme in Sudan was cancelled, which led to our failure to respond to the emerging civil war and the resulting genocide. Will the Minister confirm that any future aid cuts will come with a proper plan in advance? Will the conflict prevention unit be fully restored?
Chris Elmore
As I have mentioned, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we will continue to play a humanitarian role in Sudan, and he is committed to protecting our funding support for people affected by the crisis over the next three years. The fund is not linked to any official development assistance cuts and will, in fact, deliver £146 million of lifesaving aid over the next year.
Carla Denyer (Bristol Central) (Green)
I am sure I am not the only Member who feels that we are a bit through the looking glass, with the Minister today and the Minister who answered the urgent question last month insisting that no UK arms have been found in Sudan, while Amnesty International reports that small-arms targeting systems and engines for armoured vehicles from the UK have been found in Sudan. I think we can be confident that they are not being used for peaceful purposes, so will the Minister reconsider a ban on arms exports to the UAE, or at the very least set out how the Government—specifically how—are conducting due diligence when licensing arms transfers to the UAE?
Chris Elmore
As I have said, any arms found were non-lethal supplies, and they were not arms or ammunition. Although we are aware of reports of a small number of UK-made items being found in Sudan, none of the equipment reported on recently has been licensed for export to the UAE in recent years, and there is no evidence in recent reporting of UK weapons or ammunition being used in Sudan. As the hon. Lady may know, we have previously refused licences to the UAE due to the risk of diversion.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
It appears that, once again, children are paying the price of man’s folly. According to Save the Children, over 1,200 children were killed in 2024, rising to 1,700 last year, mainly by explosive devices. At a hospital in Khartoum, one in six casualties are children with shrapnel to the head, limbs or abdomen. As a United Nations penholder on Sudan, will the Minister draft a child-focused resolution on protecting the most innocent?
Chris Elmore
The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important point in relation to children, as have other Members. Conflict is unimaginable in any form, but the killing of children specifically and the use of children as weapons of war is an atrocity all of its own. We continue to work at the UN level, at both the Human Rights Council and the Security Council, to ensure that, as penholder, we bring about an end to the conflict as quickly as possible. Obviously, we will keep up that work, including on the specific impacts on children.
Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)
As well as the atrocious mass murders, the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan only worsens. It is vital that we commit ourselves not only to giving aid, but to delivering it in a way that reaches as many people as possible. Recently, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact highlighted how our Sudan-related aid is being undermined by understaffing, short-term and unpredictable funding allocations, over-complex compliance procedures and insufficient support for frontline responders. When can we expect the Government’s response to those findings? Can the Minister assure the House that the necessary changes will be made to ensure that humanitarian assistance gets through?
Chris Elmore
Let me give the hon. Gentleman one example. Over the past two years we have provided the World Food Programme with £55 million, which has been explicitly targeted at populations at risk of or experiencing famine, including in Sudan, and £2 million of additional funding for Cash Consortium Sudan’s El Fasher response, supporting over 100,000 people with lifesaving aid in north Darfur. We also work regionally, including around eastern Chad. We do ensure that the funding through the aid programmes reaches the people who are most in need.
Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)
I echo the calls from colleagues across the House. Given that we are a signatory to the genocide convention, will the Minister plainly commit to using every lever available to the Government, including our position in the United Nations, to demand an immediate end to the horrific situation unfolding in Sudan?
Chris Elmore
I can confirm that, as I have done for all questions throughout the session.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his strong answers. The situation in Sudan is deteriorating every hour, yet the anguish that people are suffering is fresh and new. For Christians in particular, the murder, rape and systematic violence happens daily. Every day, another child loses their mother or father, their chance of education and their hope of a future. When will the Minister put his heartfelt words into action, and when can move into the region with other countries to restore peace? How we can get the help to those on the ground who need it most but whose voices cannot be heard?
Chris Elmore
I know how much these issues matter to the hon. Gentleman. We are working as quickly and as robustly as we can at the UN level, and we are working with European and American partners to ensure that we bring about the cessation of violence. We will continue to do that work. This is a personal commitment of the Foreign Secretary, given all her work in recent months to try to bring about a peaceful settlement for the people of Sudan.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Is the point of order really relevant?
Seamus Logan
It is. In his response to my urgent question, the Minister referred to my presence or otherwise in the Chamber during a previous debate. I want the Minister to be aware, and the record to show, that members of my extended family are Sudanese nationals. Is it in order for the Minister to undermine the validity of my question in that way? Will he apologise?
Madam Deputy Speaker
We cannot prolong the debate, but the hon. Member has most definitely got his point on the record.