Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of sexual and gender-based violence in Sudan.

In October, the UK successfully led the mandate renewal of the Human Rights Council UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan (FFM), which independently investigates credible evidence of human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The FFM has found that SGBV, in particular rape and gang rape, is widespread and continues to occur on a large scale across Sudan. Findings from the FFM, as well as evidence from the UK-funded Sudan Witness project which collects open-source evidence of harms against civilians, have informed our programming in Sudan. Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, we have pivoted existing programmes to increase focus on SGBV prevention and response. In doubling the UK's aid commitment to Sudan to £226.5 million, more funding to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund will also enable increased support to survivors. In addition, on 26 September, the UK convened an event at the UN General Assembly with Dutch and Swiss partners to address conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, drawing international attention to the plight of women and girls and stressing the importance of survivor-centred, local and women-led response efforts. The UK also co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians which failed to pass due to a Russian veto.