Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for human rights in Sudan of reports of a block on internet access in that country in June 2019.

​The Foreign Secretary's statement on 6 June called for internet and full media freedom to be restored to avoid escalation. I summoned the Sudanese Ambassador on 6 June and called on the Transitional Military Council to lift all restrictions on internet access which has been unavailable since 3 June. I stressed the importance of free access to the internet for all Sudanese citizens as part of their basic human right and living in a free and open society. I expressed our concern about the impact this had on broader freedoms in Sudan.