Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of humanitarian need in Chad.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The conflict in Sudan has so far forced over 1.3 million people over the border into Chad, placing significant pressure on already vulnerable communities.

During her visit to the border region in February, the Foreign Secretary pledged the UK’s continued support for humanitarian relief efforts, including £56 million of bilateral support for Chad in the last financial year.

But we know that funding alone cannot resolve this crisis. That is why we continue to work intensively alongside our international partners to seek an end to the conflict and an urgent increase in humanitarian access.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking under the International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls to help counter the global backlash against gender equality.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls 2026 sets out how the UK will work with partners to deliver lasting change, reflecting the scale of challenges facing women and girls globally. Evidence will underpin all our work, and we are committed to rigorous reporting and governance to ensure effective delivery.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member in particular to the 'deliverables' section of the framework, which sets out some of the key steps we will take to protect and advance the rights of women and girls, and to Paragraph 51, which sets out how we will monitor and evaluate progress against the goals of the framework.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that that the commitments in the International Strategic Framework on Women are being delivered.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls 2026 sets out how the UK will work with partners to deliver lasting change, reflecting the scale of challenges facing women and girls globally. Evidence will underpin all our work, and we are committed to rigorous reporting and governance to ensure effective delivery.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member in particular to the 'deliverables' section of the framework, which sets out some of the key steps we will take to protect and advance the rights of women and girls, and to Paragraph 51, which sets out how we will monitor and evaluate progress against the goals of the framework.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the global persecution of the Baha'i community in (i) Iran, (ii) Yemen, (iii) Qatar, (iv) Egypt and (v) elsewhere.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK strongly condemns the persecution of Baha'i communities in many countries around the world. Last July, shortly before launching the Government's strategy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), the UK Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith MP, met the then Baha'i International Community UN Representative, Simin Fahandej, to discuss the persecution of the Baha'i in Iran and elsewhere.

The UK has also raised the targeting of Baha'i communities in international statements, including at the UN Human Rights Council, and supported action to strengthen international scrutiny of Iran. The Special Envoy engages regularly with Baha'i representatives, including the Director of the UK Baha'i Office of Public Affairs, Padideh Sabeti, who also contributed to the launch of the Government's FoRB Strategy.

We will continue to raise the persecution of Baha'i communities with relevant countries, and in multilateral fora as appropriate.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the Sudanese civil-society dialogue process being established by the Quintet; and to help ensure that it is a diverse and inclusive process for women and young people.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has been clear that it must be the people of Sudan who determine Sudan's future. Together with our allies, we stand united in our support for a sustainable resolution for Sudan rooted in an inclusive, civilian-led political process that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people, as set out in our 'Joint Statement on Sudan in Support of a Civilian led Political Process', published on 8 June.

We are coordinating international support for the Quintet's efforts to advance a just civilian transition through the UK-established Contact Group of Civilian-Led Political Dialogue, along with international partners including Norway and Switzerland. The group is committed to genuine inclusivity across political, geographic, gender and ethnic lines and to ensuring that women, youth, and grassroots organisations are included at all stages of the peace process.