Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken in response to the political situation in Sudan.

We remain concerned at the political crisis and continued violent repression of protesters in Sudan following the 25 October coup. Following the resignation of Abdallah Hamdok as Prime Minister the Troika (UK, Norway, US) and EU issued a statement on 4 January, urging all sides to engage in dialogue. We therefore welcome that the UN are facilitating talks and with our Sudan Quad (UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US) partners released a statement on 8 January urging all political actors to seize this opportunity.

Since the coup, British Embassy staff in Khartoum, the UK Special Representative to Sudan and South Sudan and other FCDO officials have engaged with all parties to encourage dialogue and demonstrate support for the democratic transition. We have also consistently called for an end to detentions and media infringements, and for Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. This includes through statements the Foreign Secretary and I have made, and in international fora such as the UN Security Council and G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting. With our international partners we will continue to show our support for a return to the democratic transition and maintain pressure on the Sudanese military to deliver people's demands for freedom, peace and justice.