Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to facilitate the opening of humanitarian corridors in Sudan.

Our top humanitarian priority remains securing immediate humanitarian access and operational security guarantees for humanitarian agencies. The UK strongly condemns the decision on 21 February by the Sudanese Armed Forces to withdraw permission for cross-border deliveries of humanitarian aid from Adré in Chad. As penholder on Sudan, we urgently convened the Security Council to consider this matter. We note the SAF's commitments on 5 March date to facilitate crossline and other cross-border routes for the delivery of life-saving assistance to Darfur and the Kordofans and we are calling on them to ensure that these commitments are honoured in full. The UK continues to work with regional and international partners to help bring an end to the hostilities, ensure the protection of civilians and secure safe humanitarian access to and for the most at need communities.