Sudan
Debate between Chris Elmore and Neil Shastri-Hurst(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Chris Elmore
My hon. Friend is right to challenge me in this space. We are putting in additional funding to support El Obeid and to make sure that we have early intervention. We have also led the work internationally to call for no additional progress on any conflict in El Obeid. As for the crimes of sexual violence that are taking place and the use of sexual violence in conflict, we are leading part of the international work, including working with US colleagues, to create a system through which evidence can be gathered that can bring about prosecution.
On the peace deal and bringing about a ceasefire, the Foreign Secretary is personally leading the charge. She does not shy away from any of those challenges and she continually puts pressure to bring about a peaceful resolution. This is why she has issued the statement, why she is challenging foreign Governments and why the UK is at the forefront of the development funding that has not been cut for the people of Sudan: to try to play our part in bringing about a peaceful resolution.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
This brutal conflict has resulted in more than 14 million people being displaced. Around 5 million of those have been displaced over the border, but 9 million are displaced in Sudan itself. Will the Minister set out what practical steps the Government are taking to support those who are displaced internally?
Chris Elmore
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that point. We often use UN agencies internally in Sudan, because they are some of the most trusted support mechanisms for supporting peoples displaced inside Sudan. As I mentioned earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney (Nick Smith), on neighbouring countries where refugees are moving to—Chad is a particular point of movement for people—we are offering additional support. We keep the situation under constant review so we can support people who are refugees in-country and those who are moving outside Sudan. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we keep that under constant review to provide more support where we need to.