Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will invite the UN Security Council to refer the targeting and bombing by the Sudanese Air Force of civilian and humanitarian targets in South Kordofan, including Médécins sans Frontières’s hospital in Frandala, field hospitals and standing medical structures, to the International Criminal Court.

We have repeatedly raised our concerns at the UN Security Council over the reported bombing of hospitals in South Kordofan. Any decision to refer to the International Criminal Court must be made on the basis of what will be the most effective means to bring those responsible to account. We will therefore continue to look at every available option to ensure accountability, and to work with our international partners on what can be done to both assist the victims and to bring those responsible to justice. We will also continue to urge the Government of Sudan to cooperate fully with the UN Independent Expert, whose mandate was renewed at the recent Human Rights Council in September and allows him to assess, verify and report on the human rights situation throughout Sudan.