Recommendation 19

HM Government Accepted

52. HMG’s work as UN Security Council penholder on Sudan has sought to improve visibility of the crisis including through pushing for access for targeted aid deliveries. But action in the UN Security Council has been frustrated by Russian obstructionism, including their veto of a draft resolution on the protection of civilians in Sudan on 18 November 2024 (a text co-penned by Sierra Leone and supported by all other Council members). HMG has and will continue to engage the wider UN Security Council membership to agree products relating to the dire circumstances in Sudan, and has stepped up these efforts in response to the reported atrocities in El Fasher, leading to the agreement of a UK/A3+ co-penned press statement. The UK has sought to further support the Sudanese people by securing an accountability mechanism in the Human Rights Council (HRC). In addition, the UK has secured a special HRC session on 14 November to consider a resolution to further strengthen accountability efforts in response to the situation in El Fasher. 53. HMG expects all countries to comply with their obligations under existing UN sanctions regimes. We worked closely with the US, as the penholder on the Sudan sanctions file, to renew the UN arms embargo on Darfur in September 2025. We also supported the imposition of UN sanctions on two RSF generals for their crimes against civilians in Darfur. We will continue to work closely with the UN Panel of Experts to support their work in monitoring compliance with the sanctions regime. HMG also has powers under the Sudan Sanctions (EU Exit) regulations 2020 to make sanctions designations in order to promote, inter alia, compliance with IHL in the Sudan conflict. Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, HMG has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the parties involved in the conflict. There is also a longstanding UK arms embargo in place for the whole of Sudan, separate to the UN arms embargo on Darfur. Although we do not speculate on future designations as it would undermine their effectiveness, our sanctions policy remains continually under review. 54. HMG is committed to ensuring women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in any discussions on Sudan’s future. We have consistently condemned the significant escalation of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan in our statements at the UN Human Rights Council and UN Security Council alongside joint statements by the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. This year the UK is pleased to support the deployment of a specialist sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) investigator to the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in Sudan, delivered through our implementing partner UN Women. This contribution supports the UK offer to the FFM and ensures expert input on SGBV to strengthen accountability for CRSV in Sudan. 55. At this year’s UNGA High-Level Week, the UK hosted a follow up to a 2024 event with the Netherlands and Switzerland to address CRSV in Sudan and stress the importance of local and women-led response efforts. Previous HMG technical and diplomatic support was instrumental in the establishment of the anti-war, pro-democracy Taqaddum coalition, which included providing technical expertise on gender and inclusion and working with 200 women to shape a national conference to find a political solution. While Taqaddum has now evolved into Somoud, the organisation continues to advocate for peace and a civilian-led democratic transition. This action compliments wider UK programming such as support to UN agencies on integrated responses to gender-based violence (GBV) through safe spaces, mobile clinics and internally displaced persons’ gathering points for community engagement and service provision. The UK-funded Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme provides sexual and reproductive health services to women and children in Sudan, and the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) programme supports protection, prevention, care services and emergency support for survivors of FGM. The UK continues to design and develop programmes to support dedicated resourcing to women-led organisations responding to CRSV, GBV, PSVI and wider humanitarian efforts. 56. HMG officials regularly meet with a broad cross-section of Sudanese civil society and diaspora groups to help inform our understanding of the situation on the ground, share information, and encourage an inclusive and unified approach to transition to a civilian-led government following a sustainable ceasefire. HMG plans to continue such engagement including a roundtable hosted by the former Minister for the UN, attended by representatives of the Sudanese diaspora and civil society, and hosted by Zeinab Badawi, President of SOAS University of London.