Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps she has taken to help prevent a potential further military coup in Sudan.

I am pleased that Dr Hamdok has been released and reinstated as the Prime Minister of Sudan following the Political Agreement between the military and civilian leaders on 21 November. The Troika (UK, Norway, US), along with Canada, the EU, and Switzerland, have recognised the Agreement as an important first step towards restoring Sudan's transition to democracy. The UK has helped to maintain pressure on the military since the coup to encourage this, including through securing unanimous support for a resolution on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council and in statements the Foreign Secretary and I made. Most recently, we called for all parties to take a genuinely inclusive and consultative approach to delivering Sudan's democratic transition at a meeting of the UN Security Council on 10 December.

We continue to call for Sudan's transition to be restored fully, for all detainees to be released and for the Sudanese people be able to protest without fear of violence. We also continue to work with our international partners to maintain pressure on the military to deliver their commitments, including through visits to the region by the UK Special Representative to Sudan and South Sudan and the UK Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. Since the coup we have engaged with all parties to encourage progress and demonstrate support for the civilian-led democratic transition.