Written questions by Dodds.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her international counterparts on the protection of (a) Kurdish, (b) Yezidi and (c) Christian communities.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Syrian counterpart on the protection of Kurdish civilians in northern areas of that country.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Norwegian counterpart on civilian protection in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help protect civilians travelling from El Fasher to Tawila in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent atrocities taking place in South Kordofan in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North al-Hilu on the protection of (a) civilians and (b) civilian infrastructure in South Kordofan in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on humanitarian access to detainees from El Fasher, Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help protect civilians in Geizira state in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she is taking steps with international counterparts to bring those responsible for crimes in Gezeira state in Sudan to justice.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by the Lighthouse Reports on Gezira state in Sudan, published 16 December 2025.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made on anticipating, preventing and responding to mass atrocities.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025 in response to Question HL12019.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department work on atrocity prevention (a) as their primary role and (b) as part of their portfolio.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025 in response to Question HL12019.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her budget is for atrocity anticipation, prevention, and response not including conflict prevention work.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025 in response to Question HL12019.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to ensure that bilateral and multilateral mineral-security initiatives signed by the United Kingdom include binding anti-forced-labour standards.

As set out in the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy, we are working through bilateral and multilateral initiatives to promote transparent, sustainable, and responsible supply chains that uphold robust labour standards.Last year the UK worked with multilateral partners to agree the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan, and G20 Critical Minerals Framework. We support global standards such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which helps businesses operate responsibly in high-risk areas.In addition, the Modern Slavery Act requires large businesses operating in the UK to report annually on steps taken to combat forced labour in their supply chains, and the Government is reviewing its approach to responsible business conduct as part of the Trade Strategy. This includes assessing the effectiveness of current measures and exploring alternative ways to prevent human rights abuses in supply chains.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being undertaken to promote UK investment in critical minerals and other resources outside of regions where forced labour is a significant risk, such as Xinjiang.

As set out in the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy, we are working through bilateral and multilateral initiatives to promote transparent, sustainable, and responsible supply chains that uphold robust labour standards.Last year the UK worked with multilateral partners to agree the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan, and G20 Critical Minerals Framework. We support global standards such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which helps businesses operate responsibly in high-risk areas.In addition, the Modern Slavery Act requires large businesses operating in the UK to report annually on steps taken to combat forced labour in their supply chains, and the Government is reviewing its approach to responsible business conduct as part of the Trade Strategy. This includes assessing the effectiveness of current measures and exploring alternative ways to prevent human rights abuses in supply chains.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what data her Department holds on the breakdown by age of the impact of changes in levels of overseas development aid.

Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are an essential part of how we make decisions on Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations. The 2025/26 EIA, as published on gov.uk captures the impacts on children where these were reported at programme level. We will continue to track spend on equalities and plan to improve the availability and use of data. As part of this, we will consider how we measure impacts on relevant age groups, as this is not something we have done previously.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to incorporate transnational repression into the UK’s human rights reporting frameworks.

The UK is committed to promoting and protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and we monitor the infringement of human rights across the world, including instances of transnational repression (TNR). Working in coordination with partners, we employ a range of measures to counter the threats presented by TNR, including operational, policy, and legal tools, and we take very seriously the need to protect the rights, freedoms, and safety of individuals in the UK from TNR.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure access of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to conduct an investigation in Sudan.

We have expressed our concern over reports of the use of Chemical Weapons in Sudan, most recently at the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention held in The Hague from 24-28 November.  We note that the Sudanese authorities in Port Sudan have established a national investigative committee to investigate reported use of chemical weapons. We have urged them to investigate fully and promptly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a child-focused victim-assistance component of any demining funding for Sudan to support (a) prosthetics, (b) rehabilitation and (c) education for blast-injured survivors.

The UK is an active and committed member of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, which leads the international response to grave violations against children in conflict. The UK is providing further funding of £450,000 to United Nations International Child's Fund's (UNICEF) Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism this year, ensuring grave violations against children are recorded and perpetrators are held to account. Since April 2024, the UK has supported the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) with £1.4 million in funding to provide Emergency Ordnance Risk Education Services (EORE) in Sudan, including to Sudanese children. Wherever possible, the UK provides Victim Assistance referrals for medical care and rehabilitation as part of its demining support.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the UK is taking to help ensure the Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces urgently engage with the United Nations to (a) sign and (b) implement action plans to prevent further violations under the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict framework.

The UK is an active and committed member of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, which leads the international response to grave violations against children in conflict. The UK is providing further funding of £450,000 to United Nations International Child's Fund's (UNICEF) Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism this year, ensuring grave violations against children are recorded and perpetrators are held to account. Since April 2024, the UK has supported the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) with £1.4 million in funding to provide Emergency Ordnance Risk Education Services (EORE) in Sudan, including to Sudanese children. Wherever possible, the UK provides Victim Assistance referrals for medical care and rehabilitation as part of its demining support.