South Sudan

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Excerpts

Monday 1st December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

It is vital that it does, and I commit to the noble Lord that it will. We have the amazing services of my noble and learned friend Lady Harman to support us, hold us to account and offer internal challenge. I have every confidence that she will be able to do that. We need to have specific programming on violence against women and girls, but we also need to mainstream this approach throughout everything we do, so that the needs of women are met through all our activities and are not just left to a specialised team, important though that specialism will remain.

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab)]

My Lord, sustaining peace and nurturing democracy often requires a strong civil society. What are our Government doing to nurture and strengthen civil society in South Sudan?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

This is essential. We work through the United Nations and other large organisations, but it is important, especially for communities that are difficult to reach or contexts that are difficult for large organisations to gain access to, that smaller civil society and mutual aid groups are empowered and supported by us in the international community. This way, we are able not only to reach more people but to build a capability, a network, a strength and a set of skills that can do enormous good for years into the future, perhaps after the international activity has reduced.