Contribution
Thank you, Dr Allin-Khan. I am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Naushabah Khan) for securing this debate, and to all hon. Members here for doing exactly what my hon. Friend said was needed: shine a light on the human catastrophe affecting Sudan and its people, in the midst of a war on civilians, human rights, children and women.
We have already heard some really disturbing statistics. Look at the number of people—8.6 million; I added it up this morning—who have been displaced throughout Sudan. It is the same as the populations of Scotland, Manchester and Bristol put together. Those people have been forced from their homes because of appalling violence and have to attempt to scrape a life together elsewhere. Of course, up to 4 million people who have had to flee Sudan are based in other countries. It is good to hear that colleagues met some of those refugees in Egypt; I met some of them in Chad. Their horrific stories will never leave me.
I want to focus my remarks on some concerning recent developments as it is important to put them on the record. I will then ask some questions of the new Minister, whom I welcome to her place; I am pleased to see her. First, as has been said, it is concerning to see that the conflict is certainly not abating. El Obeid is being encircled, as previous speakers have eloquently pointed out. There is renewed fighting in Blue Nile province and acute insecurity in the Nuba mountains. In many parts of Sudan, there is also cholera and dengue. In many ways, the humanitarian situation is getting worse.
Secondly, since we last discussed the issue in the House, there has been an even greater use of drones in Sudan, including double-tap attacks in which, following one attack, those trying to rescue the injured are killed too. That is being done by not just one belligerent but all of them. One example took place on 20 March, when there was a big drone attack on El-Daein teaching hospital in east Darfur, a Rapid Support Forces-controlled area. On the same day in Al Dabbah in Northern state, there was an attack in an area controlled by the Sudanese armed forces, which affected electricity infrastructure. Both attacks killed civilians and affected critical infrastructure.
Thirdly, it is concerning that restrictions on aid are becoming normalised in Sudan. We have already had a bit of a discussion about the involvement of the international community. It is important to underline that what both the SAF and the RSF are doing—forcing non-governmental organisations to register with them and saying, effectively, that they are not allowed to provide lifesaving support to the other side—is obviously using aid as a weapon of war. That is appalling, and it effectively requires NGOs to choose which group of starving people they want to serve.
Finally, there has been really poor rainfall so far this year, and it looks like that will make the food insecurity situation even worse. As has been mentioned, the crisis can feel far away, but it does not feel like that when we speak to people in our constituencies with families suffering in Sudan. Furthermore, we are seeing the consequences on our shores, as we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham.
Let me put the issue into perspective. The Sudanese now make up the largest category of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children trying to come into our country. They are also the second most numerous nationality, after Eritreans, in small boat arrivals. An enormous population movement is clearly happening because of the war on civilians in Sudan.
I have several questions for the Minister. First, recent attempts by the US to achieve an arms embargo on all of Sudan—not just the one already in place in Darfur—have been blocked by Russia, which claims that the conflict is completely one-sided. Will the Minister let us know what the UK is doing to support the US in that important call, and particularly in highlighting the appallingly destructive impact of cheap and readily available drones on civilians? Secondly, I welcome the UK’s sanctions on those exploiting gold and using it to support the belligerents in Sudan, but what more can be done? Does the Minister have a date yet for the illicit finance summit that is meant to happen later this year? Will it cover Sudanese gold? It would be useful to hear about that. Thirdly, will the UK push for a credible investigation of the allegations of chemical weapons use that we have heard in relation to Sudan? Finally, has the issue of the involvement of neighbouring countries been raised by the Foreign Secretary with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries engaged in the conflict?