The situation in Sudan is catastrophic. No part of the country, or indeed any neighbouring country, remains unaffected by this civil war. The level of human suffering in Sudan is unconscionable and Sudan is widely considered the worst humanitarian crisis globally.
An estimated 150,000 people have been killed and nearly 15 million people have been displaced, with over 33.7 million people in need of humanitarian support. However, the warring parties continue to constrain aid deliveries into Sudan, regularly attacking and obstructing convoys seeking to help desperate civilians.
In April 2023, fighting between rival armed factions broke out in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. This conflict is primarily a power struggle between the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which had its roots as the Janjaweed militias. The two groups, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, respectively, are battling one another for control of the state and its resources.
The UN has called the war “a crisis of epic proportions” and one which is “wholly man-made”. The UN has also commented on the fact that the rival armies have been able to keep fighting in no small part thanks to the material support they receive from outside the Sudan.
Indeed, it has become increasingly clear that the conflict in Sudan - which has created so much instability and suffering amongst Sudan’s civilian population - is being fanned in part by nations that threaten both regional and global peace and stability.
Iran - a tyrannical regime that supports terrorist groups around the world - uses instability in Sudan to smuggle weapons from the African Red Sea coastline to Houthi terrorists in Yemen. Iran is also supplying the Sudanese Armed Forces with drones and missile systems, prolonging both the war and civilian suffering.
Similarly, Russia has long enabled the warring parties in Sudan to continue their violence, in return for a strategically threatening Red Sea Naval Base on Sudan’s coast and a free hand to smuggle Sudanese gold out of the country. Russia has even used its permanent membership at the UN Security Council to obstruct motions relating to Sudan.
China is pursuing its own interests in Sudan by supplying both warring parties with weapons and equipment. These actions are malign and disruptive. They actively seek to hinder efforts to end the fighting in Sudan, widening and exacerbating civilians’ suffering.
The previous Government applied a range of sanctions on those supporting the activities of both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). I expect the UK’s Labour Government to continue to play an active role pushing back on efforts to fracture support for an end to the conflict in Sudan, while pressing all warring parties to immediately cease hostilities and finally begin to uphold their obligations under international law.
Sudan is, rightly, one of the UK’s Human Rights Priority Countries. Both warring parties are accused of committing violations against International Humanitarian Law and widespread & systematic human rights violations, abuses and atrocities, including the deliberate killing of civilians, arbitrary arrests and detentions, the use of child soldiers, conflict-related sexual violence, and attacks on media freedom. Like so many, I want to see an end to this appalling conflict and to the suffering of the Sudanese people.
Over half of the country’s population are facing acute hunger, and the risk of famine remains high. I am gravely concerned by the impact this conflict is having on innocent children in Sudan. Reports of horrific crimes, including sexual violence, against children are truly abhorrent and sicken me to my core. I am also deeply concerned about reports of ethnic cleansing against the region's non-Arab population and of mass sexual violence being routinely used as a weapon of war.
Disease outbreaks are increasing in the face of disruptions to basic public health services, including disease surveillance, functioning public health laboratories and rapid response teams. In addition, chronic insecurity & displacement along with very limited access to medicines, medical supplies, electricity, and water continue to pose enormous challenges to delivering health care across the country. About 65 per cent of the population lack access to any healthcare and between 70 - 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are no longer functional.
I was horrified by the violence we witnessed during the siege of El Fasher and the suffering of civilians is intolerable. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) must be held to account for their destruction of Zamzam refugee camp, their attacks on civilian areas - including hospitals, markets, and prisons - and their shelling of civilian infrastructure and vehicles (including aid convoys and water purification stations, resulting in cholera outbreaks). The suffering of civilians has not and will not end now that the RSF has seized control of El Fasher.
The barbaric mass slaughter of civilians committed by the RSF betrays their brutal and heartless disregard for the wellbeing of the Sudanese people. I am appalled though, sadly, unsurprised that the RSF is conducting summary executions, ethnically motivated killings, and have detained, attacked and killed civilians - women and children among them - attempting to flee El Fasher. Likewise, reports that the RSF have killed wounded and injured people inside the Saudi Hospital, a children’s hospital, the University and the Interior Ministry are morally repugnant. I am also deeply concerned by reports of innocent civilians being targeted as they flee Sudan. I know the UK joins calls from the UN Human Rights Commissioner to both warring parties to protect civilians amidst ongoing armed conflict and uphold international humanitarian law. Sadly, these calls continue to be ignored.
In the immediate term, the UK’s Labour Government must work with international partners to provide civilians in El Fasher with humanitarian aid and to try to ensure the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers, freeing them from the terror of the horrifying violence - including physical and sexual violence - that both warring parties have used during this sickening conflict.
The previous Conservative Government consistently supported Sudan, with £10.8 million provided in 2022 and nearly £50 million for 2023-24. Almost a year on from the start of the current conflict, in March 2024 the UK announced further support, meaning overall UK aid to Sudan will increase to £89 million in 2024-25.
When the March 24 support package was announced, the previous Government stated that the funding would support UNICEF in delivering emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people particularly in hard-to-reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. It would also support survivors of gender-based violence, with £4.95 million being used to provide 100,000 women and girls with a range of female genital mutilation, child marriage and gender-based violence prevention and response services.
The previous Government also said that the March 2024 funding would support the World Food Programme to assist over 285,000 beneficiaries for 6 months by providing 13,405 tons of assorted food commodities. These include cereals, pulses, oils and salt. Contributions to help those fleeing to neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict, providing £7.75 million in South Sudan including to support existing and new refugees, and £15 million to Chad over the last year, were also made.
I urge this UK Labour Government to continue to use our nation’s influence – particularly as penholder for Sudan at the UN Security Council – to coordinate stronger international action to tighten the screws on the warring parties, press them into a ceasefire and end this barbaric conflict. To this end, the Government must go further and upgrade the UK’s support for those documenting evidence of the heinous crimes being committed in Sudan to hold those responsible to account. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has asked Labour Ministers about how it plans to pressure the leadership of the RSF and the SAF, the practical steps they are taking to sanction key operators who sustain this awful conflict, and how they are working with civilian political groups so that Sudan can, in time, move back to civilian Government.
Continued fighting will only cost further civilian lives and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. Both sides must end the violence and de-escalate tensions; I strongly support calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to all hostilities in Sudan. This Labour government must leave no stone unturned in their effort to bring the warring parties to a ceasefire.
As the Shadow Foreign Secretary has made clear, the world can and should be doing so much more.
