Motion on Aid to Sudan

The House has considered

(1) That there is a brutal war going on between Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army (SAF).

(2) That Doctors without Borders has labeled this as “a shamefully inadequate response to medical needs is worsening an already catastrophic situation.”

(3) That the United Nations and UNICEF estimate that around 19 million children are out of education in Sudan.

(4) That 5.7 million Sudanese civilians are displaced in and outside of Sudan.

Therefore, this House calls upon the Government to

(1) Urge both parties to stop fighting and let in humanitarian aid.

(2) Work with other countries, the African Union, and the United Nations to create a coordinated plan to improve the situation in Sudan.

(3) Increase aid in form of medical supplies, food, electricity, and water to Sudan, while working with non-governmental organisations to get these supplies there.

This motion was written by The Most Honourable Sir u/model-willem KD KP OM KCT KCB CMG CBE MVO PC MS MSP MLA, The Leader of the Conservative Party, on behalf of the Official Opposition.

Opening Speech:

Deputy Speaker,

With the wars in Israel and Ukraine more on the front of our minds and both events receiving most of the attention in the media, it is understandable that we have less eye for other events taking place in the world. However, this does not mean that there’s nothing that we can do in places such as Sudan.

Sudan is a country that has a bumpy history in the last decades, with the end of the British-Egyptian rule over the country in 1956, the split of the country in 2011, and more recently with wars in Darfur and in the rest of the country over the last few months. This history of instability does not help in the current situation, but this is where the international community should help Sudan.

We have seen the last Government taking decisive action on getting our citizens out of the country, but this should not be the endgame for our work with Sudan. We must ensure that humanitarian aid is being sent to Sudan and its people to ensure that there are enough medical supplies, food, electricity, and water available in Sudan. This does need a coordinated international response and it is not something that we can just simply say we will do. We have to work with international organisations, such as the African Union and the United Nations, as well as other countries to come up with this coordinated international response. We cannot do this alone, we must work together to improve the lives of so many Sudanese people.

**

This division closes on 18th November 2023 at 10PM GMT.

Link to debate can be found here