Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to engage with the pro-democracy protest movement in Sudan following the political agreement of 21 November 2021.

I am pleased that Dr Hamdok has been reinstated as the Prime Minister of Sudan and that many detainees have been released following the Political Agreement on 21 November. The Agreement is an important first step towards restoring Sudan's transition to democracy, but we continue to call for the transition to be restored fully, for all detainees to be released and for the Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. We have delivered this message to the military leadership in Khartoum, in statements the Foreign Secretary and I made, and in international fora such as securing unanimous support for a resolution on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council on 5 November. Most recently we reinforced this at the UN Security Council on 10 December and at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting in Liverpool on 11 December.

Since the coup British Embassy staff in Khartoum and the UK Special Representative to Sudan and South Sudan have engaged with all parties, including the pro-democracy protest movement and diaspora representatives, to understand their positions, encourage progress, and demonstrate UK support for the democratic transition. The UK has been a consistent and firm advocate for the democratic transition and we will continue to engage with all parties in order to deliver the freedom, peace and justice called for by the Sudanese people.