Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to ensure that people recently displaced by violence in South Sudan receive humanitarian protection.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are working with humanitarian partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (who both receive Department for International Development funding) to assess the situation and mobilise responses where possible, including the provision of water, food and health services for internally displaced persons. However, at present, continued insecurity is a significant barrier to humanitarian operations in some areas. We are pressing for action at the UN Security Council to ensure that United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan has the equipment and unrestricted access it needs to fulfil its mandated task of providing a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.