Jon Pearce
Main Page: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)Department Debates - View all Jon Pearce's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(2 days ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Catherine West
Just last month, we joined the UN-EU consultative group on Sudan for the first time, alongside our partners from the US, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the League of Arab States. That was at the top of the agenda. Our role at the moment is very much focused on being the penholder at the UN, but all channels are open and we are listening to all views. The important thing is that we try to get round the table again and maintain the momentum that we had for that brief moment at the London conference.
Jon Pearce (High Peak) (Lab)
With 150,000 men, women and children dead, 13 million people displaced, attacks on humanitarian workers, and reports of ethnic cleansing and genocide, Sudan is undoubtedly the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, yet almost nobody knows about it. We have had no marches on the streets, comparatively little media attention, and very few statements and urgent questions in the House. Will the Minister set out what more the Government can do to raise awareness of the desperate need to address this conflict?
Catherine West
I thank my hon. Friend for his spotlight on this issue. The UK condemns the growing body of evidence of serious atrocities being committed against civilians in Sudan: the escalation of violence; the killing of civilians; the sexual assault of women; and the restriction of humanitarian access. That is why the Foreign Secretary visited the Sudan-Chad border to raise awareness of the conflict in Sudan and its impact on neighbouring countries. He spoke directly to Sudanese refugees, including to survivors, who shared harrowing stories of sexual violence and torture. The Minister for Africa, for whom this is probably the highest priority area, hosted an event with his Dutch and Swiss counterparts to discuss the alarming rates of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan and the inadequacy of current responses, and we will redouble our efforts following this urgent question to ensure that we follow that up.