Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis they decided to suspend Chevening scholarships for Afghan students; and what plans they have to review this decision and to reinstate these scholarships.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

No final decisions have been taken for the Afghanistan Chevening programme for academic year 2025/26. We will provide an update on our website in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Collins of Highbury on 13 September (HL Deb cols 1811–16), what steps are they taking, together with the African Union, United Nations and Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to support the development of a civilian protection mission in Sudan.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We have repeatedly used our position as penholder at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to call for a ceasefire, and for all warring parties to protect civilians in Sudan. On 13 June, the UNSC adopted UK-led resolution 2736 demanding a halt to the Rapid Support Forces' siege of El Fasher and requested the Secretary-General to provide recommendations on the protection of civilians. The UK is engaging with the UN on the development of those recommendations which will be released in October ahead of the next 120-day meeting on Sudan, just ahead of our Presidency of the UNSC in November. We will continue to work alongside our international partners, including those in the region, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) to urge the warring parties to engage constructively to secure a ceasefire, protect civilians and open up humanitarian access.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to engage in diplomacy that specifically highlights the connection between conflict and hunger, as acknowledged in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 in 2018 and the G7 famine prevention and humanitarian crises compact in 2021.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK champions UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2417 which enables reporting and early warnings to the UN Security Council when parties to conflict are causing food insecurity and famine risk, including by blocking access to humanitarian support and destroying agriculture and food and water production systems. We use our seat at the Security Council to implement 2417 and urge swift action when such warnings are submitted. We did this when formal warnings were issued earlier this year on Gaza and Sudan. On 13 June, the UK penned UNSCR 2736 on Sudan, with specific calls to warring parties to withdraw fighters to enable agricultural activities throughout the planting season.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Collins of Highbury on 13 September 2024 (HL Deb cols 1811–16), what steps they are taking (1) to pursue accountability for ongoing atrocities and other violations of international human rights law in Sudan; (2) to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) with its ongoing Darfur investigations; and (3) to ensure that the ICC has the financial resources needed in its regular budget to carry out its mandate (a) in Darfur and (b) across its docket.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

In October 2023, the Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led resolution to establish an international and Independent Fact-Finding Mission to investigate evidence of human rights abuses and violations in Sudan. Following publication of its first report in September, the UK co-led renewal on 9 October 2024 of the Fact-Finding Mission's mandate for a further year, with the Resolution passing by a higher vote margin this year. The UK continues to support the work of the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) to gather open-source evidence on the ongoing fighting, with a view to supporting future accountability efforts. We continue to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's ongoing work to investigate the allegations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. Our practical support to the ICC more broadly includes witness protection; sentence enforcement; commitment to the ICC's reform process; and work to ensure that the Court has the resources it needs to operate effectively.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in securing agreement at the United Nations Human Rights Council for the resolution tabled by the UK which seeks, in the words of the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, to "keep UN resources focused on the human rights situation, most importantly for a fact-finding mission" and an "independent international mechanism to document and monitor abuses" in Sudan.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK uses its position as penholder at the UN Security Council and leader of the Core Group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council to keep a spotlight on, and take actions in response to, the human rights situation in Sudan. In October 2023, the Human Right Council adopted the UK-led Resolution to establish an international and independent Fact-Finding Mission to investigate evidence of human rights abuses and violations. Following publication of its first report in September, the UK co-led renewal on 9 October 2024 of the Fact-Finding Mission's mandate for a further year, with the Resolution passing by a higher vote margin this year.

Found: of the 4th Meeting , held at 4 pm on Tuesday , 15 October 2024 Present: Lord Ricketts (Chair) Baroness