Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement made on 10 April by the UNHCR Representative in Sudan, Marie-Helene Verney, that 14 million people are now displaced in Sudan.

I refer the Noble Lord to the Co-Chairs' statement issued on 16 April following the International Sudan Conference in Berlin, which outlines our joint calls for an immediate ceasefire and safe, unimpeded access for humanitarian aid, and I also refer him to the Government's press statement 'UK boosts funding to local responders to help more than 1.8 million people in Sudan's humanitarian crisis' issued on 15 April, which outlines our approach to aid for Sudan this year. Both statements are reproduced in full below for ease of reference.

Co-Host Communiqué - International Sudan Conference Berlin

1. In Berlin today, we, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the African Union and the European Union organised the third International Sudan Conference, three years after the beginning of the devastating war in Sudan. The Conference built upon the Sudan Conferences held in Paris 2024 and London 2025.

2. The Third International Sudan Conference brought together ministers and representatives of 55 States, including neighbouring and regional countries and donors; representatives of regional organisations such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the League of Arab States; the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sudan, the leaders or representatives of many United Nations programmes and agencies, including OCHA, the UNHCR, WHO, the WFP, the IOM, UNFPA and UNDP; the General Secretary of the International Committee of the Red Cross; representatives of the World Bank and the African Development Bank as well as 38 international and Sudanese NGOs. They as along with members of Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, shared their stories of tremendous resilience and courage that is needed to serve in the midst of the most severe humanitarian crisis of our times.

3. Participants gathered to focus on shared goals: calling on the warring parties to put an end to the hostilities, to immediately comply with international humanitarian law, to guarantee full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to the whole Sudanese territory, including through cross border operations, as well as to remove all bureaucratic impediments to the delivery of urgently needed assistance, to commit to the protection of civilians and to safeguard the implementation of humanitarian operations. Sustained humanitarian access cannot be made contingent on a humanitarian truce or ceasefire agreement. Participants also mobilised essential funding required for the humanitarian response in Sudan and neighbouring countries.

4. The Third International Sudan Conference foregrounded Sudanese civilian voices, providing a dedicated platform to amplify their collective call for de-escalation and progress toward a political resolution of the conflict. In light of the continued escalation of the conflict in Sudan and its severe consequences for the civilian population, civilian actors from Sudan met today in Berlin on the invitation of the AU-led Quintet (African Union, United Nations, European Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, League of Arab States) to discuss the launch of an intra-Sudanese political dialogue that could pave the way to a civilian led transition in Sudan once a permanent ceasefire will be concluded. We see this process as fundamental to ensure an inclusive, civilian and democratic future for Sudan. This civilian engagement is intended to complement ongoing international mediation efforts, including the work of the Quad on a ceasefire and the Quintet's consultations in support of an eventual inter-Sudanese political dialogue.

5. Sudan is the world's most severe humanitarian emergency. More than 13 million people have been forcibly displaced by the conflict, including seven million internally displaced and over 4 million who were forced to flee to neighbouring countries at the peak of the crisis. Humanitarian needs continue to grow, with an estimated 33,7 million people in Sudan in need of assistance. Famine has been confirmed in multiple parts of Sudan and nearly 30 million people require food assistance. About 12 million people in Sudan, including children, are currently at risk of gender-based violence. Participants renewed their calls on the parties to the conflict to lift all impediments restricting the delivery of lifesaving assistance and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel. We specifically called on the parties to the conflict to respect the lifesaving and neutral character of humanitarian assistance, and to engage constructively with humanitarian agencies that deliver life-saving aid throughout Sudan in an impartial, safe and transparent manner. We also called on parties to enable and facilitate the operations of humanitarian organisations, including the UN, and to ensure that all students are able to sit their upcoming national educational exams safely across the entire Sudanese territory.

6. Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the African Union and the European Union express their solidarity with and support for the Sudanese civilian population, the primary victims of this war. Intensified fighting in recent months in El Obeid, Dilling, Kadugli and Babanussa in the Kordofans, as well as in Blue Nile and along the Chad border in Darfur, has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, indiscriminate shelling and civilians being trapped and denied access to lifesaving assistance. We strongly condemn the abhorrent violence against civilians, particularly women and children, including attacks on ethnic grounds, attacks on humanitarian personnel, as well as bombardment of civilian and humanitarian infrastructure and sexual and gender-based violence, and all violations of international humanitarian law. These violations may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and must be promptly and impartially investigated, with those responsible for international crimes and atrocities brought to justice. We urge an end to all external support to the warring parties that continues to prolong the conflict and suffering.

7. We commend the work of international and local humanitarian organisations including Sudanese mutual aid groups and Emergency Response Rooms to support populations in the hardest to reach areas of Sudan and the efforts of neighbouring States to take in large numbers of people seeking refuge within their borders. Local first line responders are most exposed to risks while trying to reach people in need. An estimated 130 humanitarians have been killed in the line of duty since the war began in April 2023 with many more injured, detained and tortured. Humanitarian personnel are protected under international humanitarian law. All parties to the conflict must take immediate concrete steps to protect those who risk everything to save lives.

8. We support the efforts of the AU-led Quintet to find a solution to this conflict and alleviate suffering. We welcome the appointment of the Secretary General's Personal Envoy Pekka Haavisto.

9. International donors have today announced that they will provide around 1,5 billion Euro, including more than 811 million Euro from the European Union and its Member States, to respond to humanitarian needs in Sudan and neighbouring countries who continue to take in large numbers of people seeking refuge within their borders.

10. We commit today that our collective efforts to ensure that Sudan does not become a forgotten crisis will continue steadfastly and we urge all our partners to step up their efforts to bring the conflict to an end.

I also refer the Noble Lord to Government press statement 'UK boosts funding to local responders to help more than 1.8 million people in Sudan's humanitarian crisis' issued on 15 April, on the third anniversary of the outbreak of the war, also linked below, which outlines our approach to aid for Sudan this year.

UK boosts funding to local responders to help more than 1.8 million people in Sudan's humanitarian crisis.

The Foreign Secretary today (15 April) will announce the UK's £146 million aid pledge for Sudan to support frontline aid workers providing lifesaving support to Sudanese people as she travels to Berlin for the International Sudan Conference.

Sudan now faces the worst humanitarian crisis of the century. Soaring famine, mass displacement, and atrocities against civilians described by the UN Fact Finding Mission into El-Fasher as bearing "the hallmarks of genocide", including mass killings, ethnic targeting, and systemic sexual violence against women and girls.

The Foreign Secretary confirmed the UK will protect its £146 million humanitarian package for Sudan, including more than doubling support for frontline responders and local aid groups, including Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), to reach over 1.8 million people in need, helping fund lifesaving work to those impacted by violence and starvation. ERRs work neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood to deliver food, water, medicine, sanitary supplies and psychological support in some of the hardest to reach areas.

The UK has also doubled funding to local human rights defenders to ensure they can play a crucial role in the documentation and investigation of violations.

The Foreign Secretary said:

"After 3 years of brutal war, the world can no longer claim it does not know what is happening in Sudan.

"Today, in Berlin, I will call for the international community to join in a shared resolve: to secure a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution - to stop the suffering and allow the people of Sudan to determine their own peaceful future.

"Sudan's civilians are already doing their part. Their courage is inspiring. That is why we are protecting the UK's humanitarian support to Sudan and doubling our funding to these local responders, helping them to reach nearly 2 million people. The world must now stand with them and renew our determination to bring this war to an end."

Since the conflict began, UK aid has reached more than 2.5 million people: children pulled back from the brink of starvation, delivering water and medicine to hard-to-reach areas, and providing women and girl survivors of sexual violence with protection and care.

The Foreign Secretary will use the conference to galvanise global support for Sudan, driven by an immediate moral imperative and pressing global security concerns. She will call for greater pressure on the warring parties, demanding they tear down the barriers to aid access and cease attacks on civilians and aid workers, warning of consequences should they fail to agree a credible way forward for a peaceful and civilian-led Sudan.