Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Thursday, 30 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 6 November 2003. It was answered by Chris Mullin (Labour) on Thursday, 6 November 2003 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of the Sudan on press freedom.

Answer: Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of the Sudan on press freedom. [136090] Mr. Mullin: Human rights in Sudan remains one of our priorities. We monitor the situation closely. Our embassy in Khartoum regularly lobbies the Government of Sudan on human rights, including on press freedom. Most recently the embassy raised the suspension of the daily newspapers the Khartoum Monitor, Al-Wan and Al-Azminah. I am pleased to be able to say that all three of these newspapers have now resumed printing. We will continue to maintain pressure on the Government of Sudan to improve its human rights record and will continue to raise human rights violations at every opportunity both bilaterally and as part of the EU/Sudan dialogue.

Secondary information