Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development in response to the Rt hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills during the Oral Statement of 28 November 2024 on UK Leadership on Sudan, Official Report, column 945, with which countries in the African Union he has had bilateral engagements on the situation in Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those engagements in securing access to humanitarian aid within Sudan.

I have raised the issue of humanitarian access with key regional actors, including during my visit to South Sudan and Ethiopia in August, as well as in bilateral engagements with Egypt at the Humanitarian Forum in Cairo in December. The Foreign Secretary also engaged with the African Union and African Security Council members during his visit to New York in November, including at a roundtable he hosted where he urged states to use their influence with the warring parties to push for improved humanitarian access in Sudan. In December, Lord Collins also spoke to the Ugandan Foreign Minister on Sudan to seek views on how we can work more closely to support region-led mediation efforts, particularly with the African Union. He also hosted an open briefing at the UN Security Council (UNSC), during the UK's presidency in November, with a focus on the protection of civilians' recommendations. 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. We welcome the recent diplomatic efforts including by the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) members such as Egypt to pressure the Sudanese authorities to keep the Adré border open. We will continue to use our engagements with African partners to push for Adré to remain open permanently, for alternative cross-border routes beyond Adré, and for greater crossline access.