Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers allocated to the National Intelligence and Security Services in Sudan under the National Security Act 2010.

The UK has raised concerns about the Sudan National Security Act of 2010 on a number of occasions, especially on issues of accountability and provisions that offer National Intelligence and Security Service officers immunity from prosecution. As part of Sudan's Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights at the Human Rights Council in May 2016, the UK called for reforms to ensure adherence to International standards. The 2017 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report further urged Sudan to implement its Universal Periodic Review recommendations regarding reform of the act, to ensure that the national intelligence and security services conformed to international human rights standards, and urged full accountability for all human rights violations. We continue to raise these concerns with the Government of Sudan.