Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Collins of Highbury on 9 June (HL Deb col 1066), what assessment they have made of (1) reports of the discovery of 117 mass graves across Khartoum, and (2) of reports of genocide in Darfur; and what action they are taking to collect and preserve evidence to ensure that those responsible are held to account.

We are shocked at the recent reports about the discovery of mass graves in Khartoum. The Foreign Secretary has stated that the UK will continue to use all tools available to hold those responsible for such atrocities to account. The most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan is the UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission. The UK led lobbying for the renewal of its mandate in October 2024, and we have already started formulating our lobbying strategy ahead of its next renewal in September.  We are also using the momentum provided by the London Sudan conference to sustain pressure on the warring parties to adhere to their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2736.