Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of journalists, particularly women journalists, in Sudan and South Sudan.

In April 2023, the UK led the mandate renewal for the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) at the UN Human Rights Council. The Commission reported that journalists in South Sudan experience severe harassment, including arbitrary detention and death threats, with some going into hiding or fleeing the country. In South Sudan, the UK consistently raises the importance of media freedom with the Government of South Sudan and funded a project with the Female Journalists Network to enhance media literacy skills among civil society women leaders and improve the technical ability of female journalists.

In Sudan, the UK condemns the restrictions placed on media freedom since the coup on 25 October 2021 and the outbreak of hostilities on 15 April. The UK's work on protecting media freedom has focused on demonstrating public support for freedom of expression and building resilience in the Sudanese media. We have publicly supported a number of journalists who have faced harassment and attended UNESCO's event for the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists in 2022.