Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of steps to be taken with international partners to stabilise the conflict in Abyei, Sudan, through (1) civil society, and (2) the United Nations.

On 20 November, the UK released a statement with our Troika (US and Norway) partners to urge all those in a position to influence the communities involved to take all appropriate steps to prevent further escalation and push for an end to the violence. The UK have also echoed the UN Secretary-General's encouragement for the African Union to intensify its mediation efforts to help reach a political solution for Abyei. We continue to urge both the Governments of South Sudan and the de facto authorities in Sudan to regularise meetings of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee and agree joint security mechanisms to improve stability in Abyei until its final status can be agreed. We are in regular contact with partners operating in Abyei, and are engaging with the UN system, including supporting the mandate renewal of the United Nations Interim Security Forces in Abyei (UNSIFA) in early November. We have expressed alarm in the UN Security Council about the ongoing positioning of the South Sudanese People's Defence Forces in southern Abyei and have called upon the Government of South Sudan to immediately withdraw its troops in line with its commitments under the 2011 Status of Forces Agreement.