Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the current political situation in Sudan, and (2) the prospects for that country's transition to civilian rule; what assurances have they sought, if any, that the safety of acting Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok will be guaranteed; and what was the outcome of the discussions at the United Nations regarding this situation.

We strongly condemn the actions of the Sudanese military on 25 October, including to detain Prime Minister Hamdok and members of the civilian government and declare a state of emergency. Over the past two years, the UK has taken a leading role to support Sudan on their delicate path from oppressive autocratic rule to freedom and democracy; the acts of the military represents a betrayal of the Sudanese people and that journey. Hamdok remains under house arrest. As a signal of support, our Ambassador and other senior members of the diplomatic community in Khartoum met with Hamdok on 27 October and were able to ascertain that he is well. The whereabouts and condition of other civilian members of the transitional government are still unknown.

With our Sudan Quad partners (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and US) we issued a statement on 3 November calling for the release of all those unlawfully detained and restoration of the civilian-led transitional government. We expressed our condemnation at a meeting of the UN Security Council meeting on 26 October, which was followed by a statement from members of the Council. We also secured a Special Session at the UN Human Rights Council on 5 November to discuss the situation.