Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations Fact Sheet entitled "Jebel Marra Crisis Fact Sheet Issue 5, 24 March 2016" which claims that 129,000 people have been displaced from Jebel Marra in Central Darfur since January; how those people will participate in the referendum; and what steps are being taken to ensure that the Darfur referendum does not lead to further unrest and displacement of civilians.

We remain concerned by the timing of the Darfur referendum due to ongoing violence and the absence of a peace agreement. In Jebel Marra the continued fighting and the level of civilian displacement outlined in the UN Fact Sheet is particularly troubling, and brings in to question the viability of holding the referendum at this time. We have raised such concerns with the Government of Sudan. We have also pressed for full humanitarian access to be granted, including at the UN Security Council and bilaterally as part our recent strategic dialogue with the Government of Sudan, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Africa Director. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum are monitoring the situation closely.