War in Sudan

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 3rd March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

The noble Lord had two questions; I will answer the latter first. We are totally aware of a number of parties supplying arms, including Russian elements, which end up supporting not only the SAF but the other party too—they seem to have a continued interest in ensuring that the war carries on. To come back on his other question, as the Prime Minister made very clear, we are in unique circumstances at the moment with a generational change, and it is absolutely vital that this country is able to defend itself fully and to defend all the values that we hold so dear. He is absolutely committed, and he made that very clear at the weekend. But he also made clear that we are determined to support—as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said—humanitarian aid in Sudan. As a consequence of the reduction, we will make a detailed analysis of how that spending will be allocated through the spending review process that has already started, so I am not going to predetermine that. But I believe that the Prime Minister is absolutely committed to ensuring that humanitarian aid gets into this worst humanitarian situation in Sudan.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, I think the whole House will wish to congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his personal commitment and outstanding leadership in this awful conflict. My question is simple: many resolutions have been passed and conferences are occurring; is there any evidence at all that the belligerents pay any attention to outside pressure?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I suppose the answer so far to my noble friend is that, sadly, no, they have not paid much attention. This comes back to the question that the noble Lord, Lord Alton, raised. People are funding and supplying arms to this conflict, and they have paid very little attention to the needs of the civilians, which is why the Foreign Secretary’s conference in April is so critical. We will be pulling all those regional players into that event to talk not just about how we get humanitarian aid in immediately but, in the longer term, how we establish that dialogue for peace and ensure that Sudan can be led by a civilian Government in the future.