Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support the production of an options paper on civilian protection in Sudan by the UN Secretary-General; and whether he has held meetings with (a) the UN Secretariat and (b) international counterparts on the potential merits of such a paper.

The UK has been working closely with our African partners, including on the UN Security Council, and the African Union (AU), since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan. We support AU led efforts to try and secure a peace process and end hostilities in Sudan. The UK is also a member of the African Union-led Core Group which is working towards inclusive regional and international action to secure a viable peace process. We are working with a range of partners, including counterparts from Quad (Saudi Arabia, UAE, US, UK), African and European countries, The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, AU and the UN, to end to the hostilities. As penholder on Sudan at the Security Council we work in close partnership with the UN, including on how the UN can best support the Sudanese people. We will work in partnership on the upcoming mandate renewal for the UN mission (UNITAMS).