{"id":249019,"date":"2025-11-07T09:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T09:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/249019\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T09:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T09:15:10","slug":"uk-rejected-atrocity-prevention-plans-for-sudan-despite-warning-of-possible-genocide-global-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/249019\/","title":{"rendered":"UK rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite warning of possible genocide | Global development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain rejected atrocity prevention plans for Sudan<\/a> despite intelligence warnings that the city of El Fasher would fall amid a wave of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide, according to a report seen by the Guardian.<\/p>\n

Government officials turned down the plans six months into the 18-month siege of El Fasher<\/a> in favour of the \u201cleast ambitious\u201d option of four presented.<\/p>\n

The city was captured last month by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which immediately embarked on ethnically motivated mass killings<\/a> and rapes. Thousands of the city\u2019s residents are missing.<\/p>\n

An internal British government paper, prepared last year, detailed four options for increasing \u201cthe protection of civilians, including atrocity prevention\u201d in Sudan.<\/p>\n

The options, evaluated by officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in autumn last year, included the introduction of an \u201cinternational protection mechanism\u201d to safeguard civilians from crimes against humanity and sexual violence.<\/p>\n

However, because of aid cuts, FCDO officials chose the \u201cleast ambitious\u201d plan to protect Sudanese civilians<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A satellite image showing fires and smoke around El Fasher, Sudan, after Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries took over the city and surrounding villages in Darfur. Photograph: Vantor\/EPA<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> dated October 2025, documenting the decision, said: \u201cGiven resource constraints, [the UK] has opted to take the least ambitious approach to the prevention of atrocities, including CRSV [conflicted-related sexual violence].\u201d<\/p>\n

Shayna Lewis, a Sudan specialist with the US-based human rights organisation Paema <\/a>(Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities), said: \u201cAtrocities are not natural disasters \u2013 they are a political choice that are preventable if there is political will.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FCDO\u2019s decision [to pursue the least ambitious option for atrocity prevention] clearly shows the lack of priority this government places on atrocity prevention globally, but this has real-life consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the UK government is complicit in the ongoing genocide of the people of Darfur,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The British government\u2019s approach to Sudan is considered important for many reasons, including its role as \u201cpenholder<\/a>\u201d for the country at the UN security council \u2013 meaning it leads the council\u2019s activities on the conflict that has created the world\u2019s largest humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n

Details of the options paper were cited in a review of British assistance to Sudan between 2019 and mid-2025 by Liz Ditchburn, head of the body that scrutinises UK aid spending.<\/p>\n

Her report for the Independent Commission for Aid<\/a> Impact (ICAI) said the most ambitious atrocity-prevention plan for Sudan was not taken up partly because of \u201cconstraints in terms of resourcing and staffing\u201d.<\/p>\n

It stated that an FCDO \u201cinternal options paper\u201d outlined four broad options but concluded that \u201can already overstretched country team did not have the capacity to take on a complex new programming area\u201d.<\/p>\n

Displaced Sudanese in the Um Yanqur camp in the western Darfur region after fleeing El Fasher. Photograph: AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n

Instead, officials chose \u201cthe fourth \u2013 and least ambitious \u2013 option\u201d, which involved allocating an additional \u00a310m funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other organisations \u201cfor various activities, including protection\u201d.<\/p>\n

The report also found that funding constraints compromised the UK\u2019s ability to offer better protection for women and girls.<\/p>\n

Sudan\u2019s conflict has been characterised by widespread sexual violence against women and girls<\/a>, evidenced by new testimonies from those fleeing El Fasher.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis [the funding cuts] has constrained the UK\u2019s ability to support stronger protection results within Sudan \u2013 including for women and girls,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

It added that a proposal to make sexual violence a priority had been hindered by \u201cfunding constraints and limited programme management capacity\u201d.<\/p>\n

A promised programme for Sudanese women and girls would, it concluded, be ready only \u201cin the medium to long term (from 2026)\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sarah Champion, chair of the parliamentary international development select committee<\/a>, said atrocity prevention should be fundamental to British foreign policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply concerned that in the rush to save money, some essential services are getting cut,\u201d she said. \u201cPrevention and early intervention should be core to all FCDO work, but sadly they are often seen as a \u2018nice to have\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Labour MP added: \u201cIn a time of a rapidly reducing aid budgets, this is a dangerously shortsighted approach to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ditchburn\u2019s appraisal did, however, highlight some positives for the British government. \u201cThe UK has shown credible political leadership and strong convening power on Sudan, but its impact has been constrained by inconsistent political attention,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

UK sources say its aid is \u201cmaking a difference on the ground\u201d with more than \u00a3120 million awarded to Sudan and that the UK is working with international partners to achieve peace.<\/p>\n

They also referred to a recent UK statement at the UN Security Council which promised that the \u201cworld will hold the RSF leadership accountable for the crimes committed by their forces\u201d.<\/p>\n

The RSF denies harming civilians.<\/p>\n

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