Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Collins of Highbury on 13 September (HL Deb cols 1811–16), what steps are they taking, together with the African Union, United Nations and Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to support the development of a civilian protection mission in Sudan.

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