Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking as penholder on Sudan to help find a diplomatic solution to the conflict in that country.

The UK uses its position as penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council to call for coordinated, international action to bring an end to the conflict. On 18 September, the UK called an urgent council session to address escalation in El Fasher, where we called on the Rapid Support Forces to halt its siege of the area and reiterated our calls to both warring parties to return to negotiations in good faith. The UK will have the Security Council Presidency in November where Sudan will feature on the agenda. We look forward to the Secretary-General's recommendations on Protection of Civilians and will work closely with the UN, Council Members, and international partners to build momentum towards their implementation.