Sudan: Foreign Secretary's statement, 5 February 2026

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper gave a statement to Parliament following her trip to Adré on the Sudanese border in Chad.

"Mr Speaker, I want to update the House on the situation in Sudan since my Statement in November. 

On Tuesday night I returned from the border between Sudan and Chad, where I witnessed the devastating human toll of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

From the camp in Adré of 140,000 people – 85% of them women and children, who have fled the most horrendous violence and violations.

In January, Sudan passed 1,000 days of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. A regionalised conflict of power, proxies and profit.

Defined by unimaginable atrocities, by millions pushed into famine, and by the horrific use of rape as a weapon of war. And by suffering that should strike at the core of our shared humanity.

That should mobilise the world's resources and resolve. And yet too often the response we've seen is to hold back and look away. Catastrophically failing the people of Sudan and failing Sudan's women and girls.

I am determined that we do not look away. Determined that we put the spotlight firmly on Sudan.

That is why I travelled to the region to see first-hand the extent of the crisis. To listen to the testimony of traumatised women and children whose lives will never be the same again. To see how UK support is making a difference. But also see what urgently needs to be done by the international community.

To help arrest the spiral of bloodshed and to drive urgent momentum towards peace.

In Adré I met families who had been torn apart, mothers who had survived appalling violence only to find their daughters missing. And frightened children who had travelled vast distances in search of some semblance of safety.

I met teachers, nurses, students, market traders, small businesswomen, political activists. Impressive women whose lives and livelihoods back home that had been stolen from them.

A mother separated from her children who told me she still doesn't know where they are and whether they are alive.

A young woman who told me most of the women she knew had been through “bad violence” on their journey but they wouldn't talk about it “because of the shame”

A Sudanese community worker who told me she thought more than half of the women in the camp had directly experienced sexual assault or abuse.

And I've heard from others in recent weeks, including a Sudanese Emergency Response Room worker who described 3 sisters arriving at their response room who had all been raped. The oldest was 13. The youngest was 8.

This is a war waged on the bodies of women and girls. But here's what I also saw. An incredible group of Sudanese women who have set up a makeshift support centre for women who have suffered sexual violence, and children with trauma. With activities for children and support for mums.

More survivors need that kind of help and support. So this week, I announced that the UK will fund a new £20 million programme to support survivors of rape and sexual violence in Sudan. Enabling them to access medical and psychological care given the terrible stigma endured by survivors and children born of rape. Part of our international action to tackle a global emergency of violence against women and girls.

What I didn't see in Adré is just as disturbing. The fathers, husbands and brothers missing – either killed, drawn into the fighting, or migrating further and leaving family behind.

Reports from El Fasher after the RSF attacks were of atrocities so appalling they could be seen from space – blood-soaked sand; multiple piles of bodies; mass graves. And aid agencies are still facing barriers to getting in.

We've seen reports of the SAF refusing to let desperately needed humanitarian aid through.

Even though right now some 30 million people need lifesaving assistance due to this war. And up to 7 million face famine. That is nearly equivalent to the entire population of London – every person across the entire city we stand in today.

In December, the UK provided an additional £21 million for food, shelter, health services. And we have committed £146 million to support over 800,000 people this year alone.

Since the conflict began, we have reached over 2.5 million people. Delivering water and medicine to hard‑to‑reach areas.

We will continue to make Sudan a top priority for UK humanitarian support. And we will support reforms such as the steps advocated by UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher and the International Rescue Committee to strengthen prioritisation and closer work through local partners on the ground.

And yet for aid to save many more lives, the deliberate barriers to humanitarian access must be lifted.

Because aid alone won't solve this crisis – we need an immediate and urgent ceasefire and humanitarian truce, we need those responsible for these atrocities to be held to account and we need a pathway to peace.

There is no military solution to the conflict – only devastation for Sudan. Yet the military men driving this conflict still refuse to agree a truce. And there is disturbing evidence they are seeking and getting hold of ever more dangerous weapons.

The crisis is being compounded by regional rivalries and vested interests. With the real risk of further escalation within Sudan and beyond as fighting spreads to the Kordofan regions.

I am very fearful that the RSF advances on the city of El Obeid risk turning it into another El Fasher. Co-ordinated and determined international pressure are needed to halt this bloodshed and pursue an immediate truce.

A halt to the arms flows. Tangible pressure from all those who have backed the RSF and SAF, or who have influence upon them to deliver a ceasefire. And pressure from the entire international community too.

The US has been working intensively to secure a truce – drawing together other ‘Quad' countries – the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Discussing humanitarian support, military withdrawal, civilian transition, and action to stop arms flows.

I am in close contact with all members of the Quad including Secretary Rubio and with the President's senior advisor on Africa as we urgently push for a way forward. And the UK is particularly involved in a process to support Sudanese civilians to build their capacity.

African partners in the region also have a critical role. In Addis Ababa earlier this week, I met with Foreign Ministers from Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Chad, and the African Union's Chairperson and Peace and Security Commissioner to discuss what more can be done by border countries and their assessment of the action needed to agree a ceasefire.

Because we need to build the same focus and momentum on a peace process for Sudan as we had last year around Gaza with countries from across the world coming together to back a ceasefire.

That is why I am so determined the UK will keep the international spotlight on Sudan. This month the UK holds Presidency of the United Nations Security Council. We will use it to press for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, accountability for atrocities, and international cooperation for a ceasefire. And we will use it to make sure the voices of Sudan's women are heard in the Security Council chamber

As we look to the third anniversary of this devastating conflict in April, the UK and Germany will jointly convene a major international conference on Sudan in Berlin. In November, UK leadership at the UN Human Rights Council secured international agreement to an urgent UN inquiry into crimes in El Fasher following its capture by the RSF.

Later this month, we will receive the report of that UN Fact-Finding Mission. Because as well as pursuing peace we must also hold the perpetrators to account

And today I can announce new action the UK is taking to apply pressure deliberately on the belligerents. Fresh sanctions targeting senior figures in the SAF and RSF who have committed atrocities across Sudan.

We are also targeting a network of individuals operating behind the scenes to procure weapons and recruit mercenary fighters. These designations send a clear message: the UK will hold accountable those suspected of perpetrating and profiteering from the most egregious violations of international law.

To look away from crises such as Sudan would not only be against our values. It would be against our interests. Wars that rage unresolved do not just cause harm to civilians. Their destabilising effects ripple across borders and continents – whether through migration or extremism. 

Let 2026 be the year the world listens to the women of Sudan not the military men who are perpetuating this conflict. Let 2026 be the year that the world comes together to drive urgent new momentum for peace.

I commend this Statement to the House."