Lord Alton of Liverpool – To ask His Majesty’s Government, following the report of the
APPG on Sudan and South Sudan in April, what is their assessment of the situation in
Darfur.
[HL8524]
The Rt Hon The Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park – 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
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Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL8521):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assistance they are providing to Sudanese women and girls, if any, amid reports of sexual violence in the conflict in Bahri and Khartoum. (HL8521)
Tabled on: 15 June 2023
Answer:
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park:
There has been an escalation of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls in Sudan since the start of the conflict on 15 April. Through the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health Programme, we are providing integrated sexual and reproductive health services including management of SGBV through support to 324 clinics and 8 mobile health teams. The programme has maintained some access to services in all areas apart from Khartoum and Geneina. UK funding for Sudan, announced by the Minister for Development and Africa on 24 May, also supports survivors and other vulnerable groups. The UK is working with its partners to ensure that gender and inclusion conflict analyses underpin all aspects of the crisis response.
Date and time of answer: 29 Jun 2023 at 15:41.
