Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking as penholder on Sudan to support the development of options for the deployment of a civilian protection mission for that country in coordination with the (a) African Union, (b) UN and (c) Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

We have used our position as penholder at the UN Security Council to call meetings to call for a ceasefire, and for all warring parties to protect civilians in Sudan. On 13 June, the UNSC adopted a UK-led resolution 2736 demanding a halt to the Rapid Support Forces' siege of El Fasher and requesting the Secretary-General to provide recommendations on the protection of civilians. The UK is engaging closely with the UN on the development of those recommendations which will be released in October ahead of the next 120-day meeting on Sudan. I met with the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa to discuss pathways to ceasefire negotiations and we will continue to work alongside our international partners, including those in the region such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the AU, to urge the warring parties to engage constructively to secure a ceasefire.