Sudan: US Determination of Genocide Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Development
Laura Kyrke-Smith
Main Page: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)Department Debates - View all Laura Kyrke-Smith's debates with the Department for International Development
Sudan: US Determination of Genocide
Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts(2 days, 13 hours ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
I am pleased to see the right hon. Lady nodding.
The right hon. Lady asked about the political pushes and the mechanism we have been seeking to use. We will keep up the pressure at the UN Security Council, and the Foreign Secretary has been seeking to use that mechanism as much as possible. When we last discussed these matters, it was before the UK special representative to Sudan, Richard Crowder, was able to visit Port Sudan in December last year. I was pleased that happened as it was the first time we had had a UK delegation in Sudan since the conflict began. It is really important that we can be there to put pressure on the parties to the conflict.
As I have mentioned, we keep our sanctions under review but will not comment on future designations, for reasons that the right hon. Lady fully understands. We have been seeking to use our expertise. We are determined to do all we can to support the International Criminal Court, across a whole range of different theatres of conflict and different situations where it is active. Part of that work includes its activities in relation to Sudan.
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
As we have heard, the situation for women and girls is particularly severe in Sudan, with reports of gender-based violence surging, including kidnapping, forced marriage, child marriage and intimate partner violence. In fact, the UN has reported a 288% increase in the number of survivors of gender-based violence seeking its case management services. Will the Minister outline what steps we are taking to ensure that those perpetrating gender-based violence are being held to account?