Sudan

Lord Bishop of Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Lord Bishop of Leeds]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

[The Lord Bishop of Leeds (Valedictory Speech)]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the Government for granting this debate at a very opportune time, with Lady Sandwich in the Gallery and a detailed report, Rivers of Blood, dedicated to the late Lord Sandwich, being delivered this morning to the APPG.

I thank the Minister for her commitment to addressing the urgent and long-term situation in Sudan, a country I love, where I have friends and which I have visited a number of times, most recently in June 2024. My concerns and engagement will continue after I retire from the House this afternoon, albeit in a different way. I note that the Order Paper says this is a valedictory speech, but I would be grateful if we kept our focus on Sudan.

The humanitarian situation in Sudan is so dire that “urgent” does not do justice to the need for action. I will not repeat the many reports from agencies engaged on the ground in Sudan, but they make for harrowing hearing and reading. A number have provided briefings in Parliament in the last few days. We had planned for the Archbishop of Sudan, Ezekiel Kondo, to be here today, but he had to return to Port Sudan a couple of days ago.

The lack of attention to Sudan in western media is bewildering in many respects, but it seems that increasing attention is now being paid. The suffering in Sudan is almost unbearable, the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet, and it is neither new nor simply a phenomenon of only the last three years. Whatever the causes of and motivations behind the current conflict, it is civilians—women, children, young men and vulnerable ethnic groups—who are being targeted and abused in the most inhumane ways.

I will give a few numbers. It is estimated that up to 150,000 people have died and 13 million have been displaced, 9.6 million internally and 4.3 million in exile. Some 25 to 30 million people are hungry, malnourished or severely malnourished. Save the Children estimates that 16 million children are in need of aid and that, in 2024, more than 2,000 cases of children being killed, maimed, abducted, raped and violated were recorded—and that is just what we know. Sexual violence against children, women and young men is out of control, fuelled by an evident assumption of impunity and unaccountability by perpetrators. Shame is being weaponised in the most vicious and immoral way. Access to aid is frequently blocked, and funding is inadequate to the need.

In so-called illegal immigration to the UK, Sudan is now the most represented group. Migration to neighbouring countries such as South Sudan and Chad is in the millions and having a powerful effect on those countries. According to several agencies on the ground, the numbers of people killed or maimed by explosive weaponry, either directly or from unexploded arms, are increasing. I could go on.

The siege of El Fasher led to deliberate targeting of civilians, widespread massacres and a targeted and systematic strategy of wiping out non-Arab Africans, with a view to erasing or rewriting the country’s history, culture and identity. At a briefing in Parliament last week, we heard that the script is already written, as the RSF now move on to Tawila and El Obeid. We cannot say we do not know what will happen in the Kordofans, as the rehearsal in El Fasher was so successful for the RSF. Civilians, humanitarian workers and volunteers are unprotected against both the SAF and the RSF, cannon fodder in a war they did not start. It is timely that Sudan is now rising in prominence in both the political and media spheres. The USA is finally beginning to wake up to the crisis.

Other noble Lords will bring specific points to bear in the short speech time allowed, so I do not want to cover every aspect of the tragedy we are witnessing. I hope we will not have too much repetition, deviation or hesitation but will put on record the many sides of this conflict that need repeatedly to be heard, noted and responded to. I am grateful to the Minister, who has prioritised Sudan and made herself available for briefings and conversations. “Governments need to do more” is a constant plea on many issues, but there are one or two areas where more might be achievable now.

First, the UK has a responsibility to step up its leadership of partner nations in working with the Quad and others to apply diplomatic, economic, political and moral pressure to: bring an end to the conflict; stem the flow of arms and finance by countries such as the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Russia, using its clout to interrupt the flow of gold and rare earth minerals into the global markets, and to hold publicly to account those countries which enable this brutality to continue; and to mobilise, using military means, if possible, to provide immediate protection of civilians and humanitarian workers. Key to this is the need to make all sides in the conflict seriously and unmistakably aware that they will be accountable in the future for their actions now. Atrocities will be punished under a rule of law to which belligerents pay no regard.

Secondly, the civilian population needs urgent protection. The need for a diplomatic surge is clear, but resolutions by themselves will not bring a ceasefire or a peace that in the longer term leads to civilian rule. As I indicated earlier, we must not see a rerun of El Fasher in Tawila and El Obeid, and ultimately in Khartoum. Agencies are evidently not confident that this can be avoided without some targeted and serious interventions now.

The migration of Sudanese refugees into Europe in general, and the UK in particular, will only increase. This is a challenge that needs international partnership and co-ordination. The UK can take a more confident lead on this. If you visit Sudan, everybody you speak with is crying out for the UK, for historical reasons, to step up its power and influence. Wherever the future leads, international partners will have to attend to rebuilding infrastructure and civil society. The land will have to be de-mined and cleared of ordnance. Most concerningly, a generation of young people who are suffering now will need massive support if cycles of vengeance and violence are not to be let loose in the years to come. Generational trauma will be fearsome.

Other speakers will touch on matters that I have not had time to address, but I hope that my point is made. The humanitarian disaster, the worst in the world, cannot simply be observed from a distance. It needs concerted and determined attention and action. I look forward to the Minister’s response to the debate.