Yvette Cooper leads calls to end ‘unimaginable suffering’ in Sudan

Foreign Affairs Minister Yvette Cooper is preparing to press for a humanitarian solution in Sudan when she chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday.

Ms Cooper will draw attention to the violence suffered by women and girls and demand accountability for the atrocities occurring in the country.

She said: “The world is terribly failing the people of Sudan. Women and girls continue to pay a devastating price in this war.

“I am here at the United Nations to make it clear that the United Kingdom will not allow these experiences to be ignored. The world cannot continue to turn its back.”

“We must mobilize the world’s resources and act with determination to end this unimaginable suffering. The international community must do more to protect women and girls.”

“We must send a clear message to perpetrators of sexual violence that they will face the full weight of the law.”

The meeting took place after the Secretary of State visited the Sudanese border and announced £20 million in funding for victims of sexual violence in the country.

A Sudanese campaigner against sexual violence will attend a UN meeting.

The UK government has imposed new sanctions on six people suspected of committing atrocities or fueling the devastating war in Sudan by providing mercenaries and military equipment.

The measures target senior commanders in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), whose soldiers are suspected of committing massacres against civilians and using rape as a weapon of war.

It also imposes sanctions on individuals suspected of recruiting foreign fighters for conflict or facilitating the procurement of military equipment.

Ms Cooper said there must be “a price to pay” for the military commanders who allowed the atrocities to take place, as well as the “callous profiteers” who incited the violence.

He said the government wanted to “dismantle the war machine” with sanctions and called for a ceasefire and unimpeded access to aid agencies.