Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current situation in Darfur, Sudan, including reports of (1) ethnic cleansing, and (2) identity-based attacks, on Massaleit people by Arab militia (Janjaweed).

The UK strongly condemns the attacks on civilians in Darfur, including the killing of the West Darfur Governor, Khamis Abaker. This message was delivered publicly by the Minister for Development and Africa on 16 June. The violence must end, humanitarian access must be granted, and those responsible must be held to account. We will continue to condemn human rights violations taking place in Sudan in international fora such as the UN Human Rights Council, and the UK continues to fund and provide support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR), a UN body that provides a crucial role in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. We are liaising with them as they now set up and run their remote monitoring mechanisms. The UK has released funding to organisations who are working with local partners to collect, verify and preserve digital content from the conflict, including incidents of significant abuses.