§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the work of(a) non-Government organisations and (b) Operation Lifeline Sudan following the bombing of Khartoum in August 1998. [56540]
6W
§ Clare ShortOur judgment is that the bombing of Khartoum in August 1998 had no long term effect on either non-government organisations (NGOs) or Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS). UK based Embassy staff were temporarily withdrawn from Khartoum on 27 August but some senior staff have relocated to Nairobi in order to continue monitoring the performance of OLS and NGOs in the field.
In addition, officials from my Department visited Sudan and Kenya from 13–27 September. They were able to visit the worst affected areas in Sudan, including those controlled by the Government and the rebel movements and monitored NGO activities there. They also participated in an EU Mission to the region which reviewed the adequacy of the relief response to date including the performance of the OLS consortium. The Mission found that from mid-July onwards the humanitarian response began to match the scale of the crisis in southern Sudan. This has contributed to the improvement in the condition of some of the worst affected groups there.