Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Sudan regarding any attacks on churches in Sudan, and especially on the churches and people of the Coptic Orthodox Community.

Prior to the outbreak of violence on 15 April, the British Embassy in Khartoum worked with political and civil society actors to monitor, raise issues, and lobby the Sudanese authorities for improvement on freedom of religion and belief in Sudan. Following recent reports of attacks on churches, the UK Government will continue to work closely with international and civil society actors to monitor the situation, and raise our concerns at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council, noting that access for the international community to monitor human rights abuses is now been severely restricted. The UK funds and provides support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR), a crucial UN body for monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. We are liaising with the OHCRC as they set up and run their remote monitoring mechanisms.