Sudan
Debate between Chris Elmore and Joe Powell(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Chris Elmore
The hon. Gentleman has championed the issues of the Sudanese people for a number of years, and I thank him for doing so; I have responded to debates in Westminster Hall in which he has raised, in particular, the persecution of Christians in Sudan. He is quite right to raise the wider point about the UN Security Council. Just this Tuesday, as I mentioned earlier, the Foreign Secretary spoke to the UN Secretary-General. As penholder, we have issued the clarifying statement with Norway, Germany and others, as I mentioned. He is right that we will continue to lead this work in the UN to bring about a peaceful resolution and do all we can to get crucial humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan.
Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)
The single most effective action to protect El Obeid civilians and avoid a repeat of El Fasher would be for the UAE to withdraw its clearly evidenced backing for the RSF and demand that civilians are protected. What more can the Minister do to persuade the UAE? If that fails, what can we do on the gold trade and illicit finance, in addition to sanctions, to ensure that anyone involved in arming the conflict does not materially benefit?
Chris Elmore
As I said, the Foreign Secretary raised this issue with the UAE just this week as well as during her visit to Cairo at the end of last week. My hon. Friend makes a good point about illicit gold flows. We are a leader in tackling the gold flows problem, and have hosted a joint conference between the FCDO and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to launch a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows. We are very much trying to control the problem, and leading this work is extremely important.
Sudan: Humanitarian Situation
Debate between Chris Elmore and Joe Powell(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Chris Elmore
I am more than happy to look at any position at a multilateral level that supports the people of Sudan and brings a cessation of violence as quickly as possible, whether at the UN General Assembly, the Security Council or the Human Rights Council, as part of ongoing work across the multilateral space.
Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)
I welcome the additional aid and sanctions, and I praise my constituents who have done so much to keep Sudan in the public eye. What lessons have been learned from the fall of El Fasher to prevent the RSF repeating its tried and tested pattern in Tawila, where approximately 650,000 civilians and 300 aid workers, including British citizens, are at grave risk?
Chris Elmore
I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. Prevention work is ongoing to try to avoid further horrendous scenes. This conflict is ongoing and we are doing our very best at the UN level, across the European Union and working with the African Union to ensure that these conflicts do not continue and that we learn lessons as soon as possible.