Sudan: Aerial Bombardment

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. We are engaging on a number of strands of this issue with the OPCW. He is absolutely right that part of that is urging Sudan to conclude the investigation that is under way. We have a range of discussions at the OPCW and at the UN in our role as penholder, across the community of nations, about ways to address the issue and take allegations seriously. As I think the noble Lord and everyone else in the House know, the OPCW has enjoyed strong support from the United Kingdom for a number of years, and we take it extremely seriously as the primary vehicle to investigate serious alleged breaches.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, given the extent of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan over the past number of years, like the noble Lord, Lord Alton, I again ask my noble friend: will he, along with international counterparts, put some diplomatic pressure on President Trump to persuade him not to allow control of the UN to go to the UAE, as it funds the rebels in Sudan who have committed immeasurable atrocities in Darfur, including El Fasher?

[Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to point to the role of external interference in this conflict and the way it fuels the conflict. We have been clear from the start that all external support for either side serves only to fuel the bloodshed and prolonged violence and must end. That is why we have imposed an arms embargo on Sudan. With reference to the United States, that is why we are not just continuing to call for compliance with the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur; we are also working with the US and others to support efforts to strengthen the scope of that UN embargo.