Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking at the United Nations to establish an independent investigation into the attacks on protesters in Sudan, and sexual and gender-based violence by all armed groups in that country.

We have said in public and in private, that there must be justice and accountability for the crimes committed by members of the former regime. The UK strongly supports the mission of the International Criminal Court; due legal process must be followed. The UK, through the UN Security Council issued a statement on 11 June that called for the immediate cessation of violence against civilians and emphasised the importance of human rights, protection of civilians, accountability and justice. They also noted the announcement by the Transitional Military Council to investigate the incidents.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) issued a statement on 17 June, which called for all human rights violations and abuses committed to be investigated in an independent and transparent manner, and perpetrators held accountable for their acts. In both the UN and the African Union there is widespread concern about the situation, as well as ongoing considerations of how to hold the Sudanese authorities accountable.