Sudan–United Kingdom relations

History

Between 1899 and the country's independence in 1956, Sudan (then known as "Anglo-Egyptian Sudan") was an Anglo-Egyptian condominium.

Britain has had relations with Sudan's Islamist government since it took power in a military coup in 1989.

Following the outbreak of War in Darfur in 2003, in June 2004, British international development secretary, Hilary Benn, ruled out international military intervention for Darfur. However, by the next month, it was reported that British Prime Minister Tony Blair was asking officials to draw up plans for possible military intervention in Sudan.

In January 2006, Prime Minister Blair told the British Parliament that the international community was failing the people of Darfur in Sudan and that it was vital that the underfunded African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur be brought to full strength.

In September 2006, Prime Minister Blair said he would propose an incentive package for Sudan as part of a new initiative to end the crisis in Darfur and get United Nations peacekeeping troops on the ground.

In supporting the United Nations Security Council resolution in 2007 to authorize the deployment of up to 26,000 peacekeepers to try to stop the violence in Darfur, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations, urged strong support for peacekeeping in Darfur, calling the war "the greatest humanitarian disaster the world faces today". He also called for an end to aerial bombing of civilians, and for greater effort to support peace talks and reconstruction and said:

But we must be clear that if any party blocks progress and the killings continue, I and others will redouble our efforts to impose further sanctions. The message for Darfur is that it is a time for change.

In 2007, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir accused Gordon Brown of deliberately undermining the Darfur peace talks and demanded a public apology after the prime minister's threat of new sanctions. Brown had said "Of course if parties do not come to the ceasefire there's a possibility we will impose further sanctions on the government."

Following the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant to the Sudanese President, Gordon Brown and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged the Sudanese Government to co-operate with the ICC.

British Government aid

Britain is the second largest single country donor to Sudan contributing contributed £175m of aid since 2003 In 2004, the British government committed 2 planes to help with the aid effort in Darfur.

In 2004, Britain confirmed that its aid package had been nearly doubled to £34.5 million, compared to European Union commitment of £7.8 million. In 2006, the British government committed USD 76 million to aid efforts in Darfur to help the world's largest aid operation.

Non government aid

British aid organisations British Red Cross, Save the Children and Oxfam were active in Darfur. In May 2004, Oxfam announced it was increasing its staff in Darfur as it was gravely concerned about the humanitarian crisis. Around the same time, the Sudanese Government made it easier for aid workers to obtain visas to work in Sudan. In 2007, Oxfam's operating budget for Sudan's western region was USD12 million.

Expulsion of aid staff in 2009

In March 2009, Sudan expelled several major foreign aid agencies including Oxfam and Save the Children from Darfur in response to the extradition request of Omar al-Bashir to answer ICC charges. President al-Bashir accused foreign aid workers of being "spies" and "thieves". Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's international director, said of the ban "It will affect more than 600,000 Sudanese people whom we provide with vital humanitarian and development aid, including clean water and sanitation on a daily basis."

Gordon Brown said in response "The humanitarian agencies that are working in Sudan should be allowed to stay there and continue their work."

In April 2009, Oxfam and other aid agencies appealed their ban saying that "The expulsion is already affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of the very poorest and most vulnerable Sudanese people". Oxfam have denied working for the ICC saying that "We don't have an agreement with the ICC, we are a humanitarian organisation and we are impartial," and "We don't have anything to do with the ICC and we don't have a position on its decision."

Diplomatic missions

The Embassy of Sudan, London is located on Cleveland Row, close to St James's Palace.