§ Rev. Martyn SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations between Her Majesty's Government and the Sudanese Government following the peace agreement signed in April 1997. [11122]
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§ Mr. Tony LloydThe April 1997 agreement contains positive elements, notably the commitments to self-determination and to respect for human rights, but the main southern group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, is not a party. We remain concerned about Sudanese policies in three main areas; human rights, support for terrorism and the civil war, but we welcome the Sudanese Government's acceptance of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development's declaration of principles as the basis for talks with the SPLA and look forward to early negotiations. We and our EU partners fully support IGAD' s efforts to bring peace to Sudan and are ready to consider any way to help that process.