§ Mr. DawsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria will be used in determining the date for resuming the EU-Sudan dialogue; if he will outline the criteria by which future progress will be measured; and if he will make a statement. [25374]
§ Mr. BradshawAt the end of 2001 the EU and the Sudanese Government agreed to continue and intensify the EU-Sudan dialogue, chaired by our ambassador during the latter half of the year, for a further 12 months. The dialogue is therefore on-going. The continued dialogue will allow for regular joint assessments of concrete and verifiable progress achieved with respect to democracy918W and human rights and in the peace process. For its part, the EU agreed to achieve the launch of the Humanitarian Plus programme.
We are pleased with the progress achieved during the course of the dialogue last year. There was some progress on human rights and democratisation. The Council of Ministers is somewhat more broadly based. The Umma Party is back and operating as a political party within Sudan. New newspapers are permitting a freer expression of political debate. There is some moderation of police and security activity, though abuses undoubtedly occur. Work continues to confront the problem of abductions. But in all these areas there is much more to do and we shall continue to address these issues during the course of this year.