Sudan (Hansard, 5 March 2003)

§ Mr. Dawson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what lessons have been learned from the performance of the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team in order to ensure that the new Verification and Monitoring Team can respond(a) rapidly and (b) effectively to reports of fighting within southern Sudan. [100704]

§ Mr. Rammell
Representatives of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, the Government of Sudan, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, observers at the Sudan peace talks and the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT) have been meeting in Nairobi to discuss the establishment of the verification mechanism envisaged in the Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding on Cessation of Hostilities, signed on 4 February. The verification monitoring team will initially be based on an expanded CPMT because the latter has assets on the ground. A fuller mission will be established as soon as is practically possible. We expect the designers of the mission to draw lessons from the experiences of the CPMT. However the CPMT and the new mission have essentially different mandates and terms of reference. The UK stands ready to provide financial and practical support to the new mission.

§ Mr. Dawson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that the Verification and Monitoring Team(a) publish and (b) disseminate reports of their investigations into attacks on civilians in Sudan without delay. [100706]

§ Mr. Rammell
The Verification and Monitoring Team will report to the committee established by the Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Cessation of Hostilities, signed on 4 February. The committee will arrange publication and dissemination1062W of reports. Attacks on civilians will continue to be monitored by the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team which reports to the US Government.

§ Mr. Dawson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to monitor(a) abductions, (b) rape and (c) recruitment of children during the recent fighting around Sudan's oil fields. [100707]

§ Mr. Rammell
Abduction of women and children is a serious and distressing issue to which we pay particular attention. We continue to work closely with the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) which is working with UNICEF and Save the Children (UK), and with the Rift Valley Institute. The Government of Sudan has made clear publicly that it is committed to the success of the Committee and has said that it sees abduction as totally unacceptable and contrary to both Islam and to Christianity.