Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken with international counterparts to support increasing access into areas of South Sudan for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The UK is deeply concerned by the growing humanitarian need in South Sudan, where nearly 10 million people require some form of humanitarian assistance. The situation is made only worse by constrained humanitarian access, attacks on humanitarian operations, displacement exacerbated by regional violence and climate shocks, and a lack of domestic investment in essential services. We are pressing, alongside regional and international partners, for the South Sudanese authorities to guarantee safe, unimpeded access into all areas of South Sudan, for de-escalation of violence, and for the provision of essential services to the South Sudanese people. This includes using our role as chair of the Humanitarian Donor Group in South Sudan which brings donors together to press these messages with the authorities. We also support the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan which is vital to establishing the security conditions for humanitarian operations and upholding humanitarian principles.