Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to urge the UN Security Council to recommend that the International Criminal Court opens a specific investigation into the situation in the town of Tabit, North Darfur, following allegations that members of the Sudanese armed forces raped more than 220 girls and women on 31 October and 1 November 2014.

The situation in Darfur has already been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the UN Security Council under UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005). As the prosecutor’s investigation is still ongoing, it could encompass any new allegations, including Tabit. However, such a decision would be for the Office of the Prosecutor of the Court to take. The UK remains a strong supporter of the ICC and continues to call on the Government of Sudan to allow the UN unfettered access to Tabit to carry out a full and independent investigation.