The conflict in Sudan has so far forced over 1.3 million people over the border into Chad, placing significant pressure on already vulnerable communities.

During her visit to the border region in February, the Foreign Secretary pledged the UK’s continued support for humanitarian relief efforts, including £56 million of bilateral support for Chad in the last financial year.

But we know that funding alone cannot resolve this crisis. That is why we continue to work intensively alongside our international partners to seek an end to the conflict and an urgent increase in humanitarian access.

I welcome my right hon. Friend visiting Chad and raising this issue, and I assure her that I have already raised it as part of the G7, when the G7 Foreign Ministers had a significant discussion. We will continue to raise the issue at every level, and pursue the possibility of comments around what is happening in Sudan at every level, including G7 communiques.

I recently visited Chad with the all-party group for Sudan and South Sudan, and in that connection we will shortly be registering an interest. Like the Foreign Secretary, I was moved by Chad’s willingness to accept 1.3 million refugees, but disturbed by the horrific scale of the crisis. Will the Prime Minister be raising the Sudan crisis at the G7, because it must be raised at every international gathering? Is the UK advocating for countries such as Chad to be included in international talks?

The UK has played a direct role in delivering aid supplies to Sudan via Chad. In March, in partnership with UNICEF, the UK airlifted 84,000kg of water and sanitation supplies to Sudan to support 300,000 people in Darfur. This critical aid is addressing severe shortages ahead of the rainy season. More broadly, I refer the Hon Member to the GOV.UK story published on 15 April setting out the UK's latest efforts to help tackle the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, available at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-boosts-funding-to-local-responders-to-help-more-than-18-million-people-in-sudans-humanitarian-crisis.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 8 December to his previous question, HL12222, where I outlined the wide-ranging nature of our Special Representative for Sudan's engagements with civil society and diaspora across the region and in the UK. These meetings are necessarily confidential.

The UK condemns any attacks on individuals on the basis of their religion or belief, including in Chad. We consistently call on all actors in Chad and around the world to respect human rights, freedom of religion or belief, and international humanitarian law.

Since the start of the conflict in Sudan, almost one million people have crossed the border into Chad which now has Africa's largest refugee caseload per capita. On average, 200 people each day seek safety in Chad from Sudan. In January, whilst in Chad, the Foreign Secretary announced a doubling of aid to Sudan with an overall allocation of £226.5 million for financial year 2024/25. Last financial year, we provided over £40 million to address humanitarian needs in eastern Chad. This benefitted 300,000 people: both Sudanese refugees and local Chadian host communities.

Since the start of the conflict in Sudan, almost one million people have crossed the border into Chad which now has Africa's largest refugee caseload. On average, 200 people each day seek safety in Chad from Sudan. In January, whilst in Chad, the Foreign Secretary announced a doubling of aid to Sudan with an overall allocation of £226.5 million for financial year 2024/25. We have also provided over £40 million this financial year to address humanitarian needs in eastern Chad among refugees and host communities which has benefited 300,000 people with food assistance.

The Foreign Secretary is looking to convene Foreign Ministers in London this spring to galvanise international efforts to bring an end to the conflict in Sudan and get aid to those who need it most, including in eastern Chad. Attendees include regional countries such as Chad, major donors, and multilaterals. The UK's former development Minister also convened a meeting of Development Ministers in February alongside the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, to explore how we can accelerate the UN-led international humanitarian response and better coordinate donor advocacy and engagement in response to the situation in Sudan and the wider region, including Chad.

In January this year, the Foreign Secretary became the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Chad. He met with the President and Foreign Minister to discuss the situation in Chad, a country that has received almost one million refugees from Sudan since the conflict started. These refugees live alongside Chadian host communities who themselves need humanitarian assistance. That is why the £40 million we have provided to Eastern Chad this year supports both refugees and host communities.

Sudan's displacement crisis is the largest in the world. 11 million people have been forcibly displaced and over 900,000 refugees and returnees have arrived in Chad. The UK recognises the severity of the crisis and has provided £55.8m to support the response in Eastern Chad since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023. We have also played a significant role in drawing international attention to the conflict, notably through the Duchess of Edinburgh's visit to Adre, Eastern Chad, in October this year, where she met with refugees crossing the border.

The Government supports the approach and ambition of the UK's 5th Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan and intends to build on this ambition during the 25th anniversary year, advancing implementation and focusing on new priorities. Although Chad is not currently a National Action Plan focus country, we continue to dedicate time and resource to delivering our strategic objectives in non-focus countries. Since 2018, the UK has dedicated over £2.9 million to the Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme in Chad. The UK continues to provide support to the response in Eastern Chad, providing £55.8 million since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.

Sudan has the largest displacement crisis in the world. 11 million people have been forcibly displaced and over 900,000 refugees and returnees have arrived in Chad. The UK recognises the severity of the crisis and the underfunding of the international response. Alongside monitoring the humanitarian impact of the Sudan conflict and any irregular migration to Europe as a consequence, the UK continues to support Chad: we are the third-largest donor to the response in Eastern Chad, providing £19.5m since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023. The UK has also contributed to focusing international attention on the conflict, notably through the Duchess of Edinburgh's visit to two refugee camps for Sudanese refugees in Chad in October this year.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, the UK has provided £19 million in humanitarian funding to support Sudanese refugees and Chadian host communities in Eastern Chad. In August, Minister Dodds announced a further £15 million to support those fleeing violence in Sudan, Chad and South Sudan. This vital assistance will provide food assistance for 145,000 people in Sudan and 60,000 vulnerable refugees in Chad. The UK is the third largest donor to the response in Eastern Chad.

Chad agreed a debt treatment with its official bilateral creditors and its main private creditor, Glencore, in November 2022.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the treatment is consistent with the commitments made by Chad and parameters under its IMF-supported program. This is enabling Chad to restore its debt sustainability, while ensuring protection against the volatility of oil prices through contingent treatment mechanisms.

The UK is not a creditor to Chad.

The Foreign Secretary will get full support from the Opposition in imposing open registers of beneficial ownership on the overseas territories.

Can I ask the Foreign Secretary to pay special attention to Sudan, which is suffering the largest displacement crisis in the world? There is clear evidence of ethnic cleansing once again in Darfur, and the human misery that I saw on the border with Chad earlier this year was among the most harrowing that I have ever seen.

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. I was able to raise the issue of Sudan with G7 Foreign Ministers in my first days in office, and I continue to hold discussions with the United States, which, as he will know, has summoned a gathering in Switzerland to try to achieve peace.

We condemn in the strongest terms the decision of the Sudanese Armed Forces to close the crossing point at Adré to humanitarian supplies, which is putting at risk the lives of even more people in Darfur. The UK is doing all we can to press for this further serious restriction on humanitarian access to be urgently lifted. On 27 February, we called for the UN Security Council to convene for a closed consultation in response to this. On 20 March, the Security Council heard a briefing on OCHA's White Note, at which the UK underlined OCHA's warning that obstruction of humanitarian access by the SAF and RSF is resulting in people in Sudan starving. Using starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited by international humanitarian law. In March, I visited the Chad/Sudan border and met with some of the 700,000 refugees who have fled conflict and hunger. I reaffirmed the UK's commitment to the people of Sudan and announced a near doubling of UK ODA to Sudan for this year, increasing to £89 million.

In 2024/2025, (ODA) will include £89 million to Sudan and £111 million to South Sudan including assistance to address food insecurity. For instance, our ODA in Sudan will support UNICEF to provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people particularly in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. We will also continue to provide ODA assistance in Chad in 2024/2025.

The UK was appalled by the events which took place at the headquarters of the Chadian Socialist Party Without Borders in N'Djamena on 28 February. Our thoughts are with those injured and the friends and families of those killed. We are in touch with International Partners and the Chadian Authorities to urge an independent investigation into what happened. We want to see a Chad that is stable, more democratic and on a path towards long-term development. A pluralist, transparent and peaceful transition back to constitutional rule is vital for building a better future for Chad's people.

The UK condemns in the strongest terms the decision of the de facto authorities to stop humanitarian personnel and supplies from entering Sudan from Chad. The UK will do all we can to press for this further serious restriction on humanitarian access to be urgently lifted. On 27 February, the UK called the UN Security Council to convene for a closed consultation in response to this issue. We used this opportunity to condemn the decision and called for the re-instatement of permission for humanitarian supplies and workers to cross from Chad as well as for crossline access from Port Sudan into areas of Sudan under control of the Rapid Support Forces. We are currently urgently reviewing UKAid that may be affected to ensure our aid can still reach those in need. Given further increased risk of famine in Darfur as a result of this decision, we have also been urging the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to make a formal warning of the risk of famine in Sudan, through the issuance of a White Note under UNSC Resolution 2417.