Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the Rapid Support Forces on their requirement for international NGOs to register in Darfur; and what steps she is taking to help coordinate an international response to prevent organisations losing access to Sudan.

The Government remains deeply concerned by the recent directives issued by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Humanitarian Agency, that requires humanitarian organisations, including the UN, to register their presence in areas of RSF-control or face expulsion. Millions of Sudanese people, who are already in dire need of lifesaving aid and assistance, could be cut off from aid.

The UK, together with our international partners and the UN, has been lobbying the RSF leadership and their affiliated militias to rescind these requirements, and the RSF has agreed to extend the original 12 May deadline for registration by one month. It is critical that a lasting solution is found that does not further restrict the ability of humanitarian actors to operate throughout Sudan.

We remain committed to using all levers to press the warring parties to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.