§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are pressing for international monitoring following recent fighting in the Darfur province of Western Sudan; and whether they will be represented in peace talks concerning Darfur in Chad. [HL338]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) spoke to the President of Sudan on 10 December during his visit to Sudan, about the situation in Darfur. He expressed the British Government's concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and made clear that the parties needed to stop fighting and renew the ceasefire as a matter of urgency. He also called for the Government of Sudan to consider inviting international observers to monitor a renewed ceasefire.
We are urging all parties to engage constructively in the peace talks currently taking place in Abeche, Chad. At present the Government of Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Chadian mediators are the only participants.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
In what ways they consider that international monitoring, both before and after any peace agreement for the Sudan, could be made more effective; and whether they will press for monitoring to include human rights as well as military issues. [HL339]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe UK is committed to supporting the work of the Verification and Monitoring Team (VMT) which investigates reports of breaches of the memorandum of understanding on the cessation of hostilities. We provide the VMT with three monitors and one Senior Liaison Officer and have, so far, contributed £490,000 to running costs and air support. The British Peace Support Team in Kenya has trained personnel appointed to the VMT by the Government of Sudan, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and other Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations is currently carrying out an assessment mission in Sudan on the possible requirements for international monitoring throughout the country once a comprehensive peace agreement is in place. We are in close contact with the Sudanese, the UN and other interested parties on this matter. We plan to be at the forefront of the international effort to support Sudan through the transition to peace, and to help the Sudanese to rebuild their country.
On human rights I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Crosby, today (HL359).
7WA
§ Baroness Williams of Crosbyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are in favour of establishing an independent body to monitor human rights in Sudan, including the proposal to establish such a body through the United Nations Commission for Human Rights; and whether they would provide additional resources in order to fund such a body. [HL349]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanWe recognise the need to monitor the human rights situation in Sudan closely and we raise human rights issues on a regular basis, both bilaterally and as part of the EU-Sudan dialogue.
We were disappointed that, despite our hard work and that of our EU partners, the EU-sponsored resolution on Sudan at the UN Commission on Human Rights was lost on 16 April. The result of the vote (24 in favour, 26 against and 3 abstentions) was the first defeat of this resolution in 10 years and meant the termination of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. We are currently considering how to approach the 2004 UN Commission on Human Rights.
Through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human Rights Project Fund we have provided £50,000 to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights for work in Sudan for 2003–04 and we are also helping to fund the work of the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) which documents human rights abuses. We will consider further requests for funding as appropriate.