Sudan: Operational Restrictions on Humanitarian Actors

Baroness Brown of Silvertown Excerpts

Wednesday 15th July 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of increasing registration requirements and operational restrictions on humanitarian actors by parties to the conflict in Sudan.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, we are deeply alarmed by both the RSF’s and the SAF’s attempts to restrict life-saving aid from reaching Sudanese civilians. We are lobbying the RSF to rescind the directives imposed by its humanitarian agency, NAHA, requiring humanitarian organisations to register their presence or face expulsion. We are continuing to call on the SAF to show restraint and remove all impediments preventing essential supplies and personnel accessing areas of greatest need, such as El Obeid. As the rainy season approaches and needs increase across Sudan, all parties must facilitate safe, unimpeded humanitarian access in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law.

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Minister for that Answer. As we are all painfully aware, the conflict in Sudan has created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Atrocities loom in El Obeid as they did in El Fasher and external actors continue to fuel this war. It is appalling that parties to the conflict are imposing increasing restrictions and threatening that vital emergency assistance. Will the Government please redouble their efforts to ensure that aid reaches those in need and maximise efforts to end this war—not least holding to account the external actors enabling this conflict?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Yes, and I thank my noble friend for putting it quite so strongly. She is right to do so, and she is a long-standing advocate for this cause. It is outrageous that humanitarian agencies are required to register as they are. We are redoubling the amount that we are spending on local agencies—which are able to work in a different way and be more flexible—some of which are not registered as humanitarian bodies and are able to work around this. But it is wrong and should not be happening, and nobody should impede access that is needed to provide humanitarian support and to protect civilians.