Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to (a) the UN and (b) other international bodies on the need for protection of civilians during the Sudan conflict.

We continue to engage actively with the UN and other international actors to push for the protection of civilians in Sudan. On 15 April, the Foreign Secretary hosted the London Sudan conference alongside the African Union (AU) and the EU, as well as France and Germany as co-chairs. There was a broad agreement among participants about the responsibility of parties to the conflict to protect civilians and uphold their obligations under international law and this was reflected in the co-chairs statement which followed the conference. More recently the UK attended the meeting of the Consultative Group on Sudan in Brussels on 26 June and contributed to discussions with the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy on Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, on his plans to convene proximity talks with the warring parties, including on protection issues. Earlier this year in February, the Minister for Africa spoke with the AU's Special Envoy for the Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities where he highlighted the credible evidence of human rights abuses and violations in Sudan and pressed the AU to continue to draw attention to atrocities in Sudan.