Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of reports that 197 people have been detained by the Rapid Support Forces in West Darfur.

We have raised our concerns with the Sudanese authorities, most recently during a visit to Khartoum by the Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan, as well as at the UN Security Council. We will continue to press the Sudanese authorities to deliver their obligation to protect civilians, and push for those responsible for abuses to be held to account. The UK supports the International Criminal Court Prosecutor in his important work to investigate human rights abuses in Darfur, and regularly raises human rights concerns in Sudan at international fora such as the UN Human Rights Council.

The UK has repeatedly called for the Sudanese authorities to accelerate implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement to help address violence and instability in Darfur and other historically marginalised areas in Sudan. The fragile security situation across the country has been exacerbated by the ongoing political crisis and underlines the urgent need for an agreement which re-establishes a civilian-led government.