Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the declaration by UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organisation that 100,000 civilians are at risk of starvation in two counties in South Sudan, and that one million are on the brink of famine, what assessment they have made of the actions by the leadership of South Sudan to resolve those issues.

We remain deeply concerned by the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in South Sudan. The continued obstruction of aid agencies by the Government of South Sudan, and restrictions on humanitarian access across the country, is particularly troubling. In addition, the proposal to increase the cost of work permits would hinder the response to the worsening famine. Together with our international partners we raised these issues with the South Sudanese First Vice President on 15 March, and made clear that the Government of South Sudan has a responsibility to stop the suffering of its own people, and allow full humanitarian access across the country.The Foreign Secretary made these points when he chaired a Security Council meeting on South Sudan in New York on 23 March.