Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations HM Ambassador to Sudan has made to the government of that country regarding (a) the alleged rape of 200 girls and women in Tabit in Darfur on 31 October and 1 November 2014 and (b) the operation of the Sudanese armed forces in Darfur.

Our Ambassador has raised our concerns about both of these issues with the Government of Sudan, most recently in a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 13 November. The Ambassador also raised our specific concerns about the alleged incident in Tabit with the Head of the Government’s Violence Against Women Unit on 11 November. We call on the Government of Sudan to allow the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) unhindered access so that the UN can conduct a full investigation into these alleged appalling crimes.

More broadly, as part of our ongoing dialogue on Darfur, we raise our concerns around the role and operation of the Sudanese armed forces in Darfur. The Ambassador raised our concerns around the tactics of the Sudanese Armed Forces in Darfur with the State Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 25 September.