§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of the Sudan on press freedom. [136090]
§ Mr. MullinHuman rights in Sudan remains one of our priorities. We monitor the situation closely. Our embassy in Khartoum regularly lobbies the Government of Sudan on human rights, including on press freedom.
Most recently the embassy raised the suspension of the daily newspapers the Khartoum Monitor, Al-Wan and Al-Azminah. I am pleased to be able to say that all three of these newspapers have now resumed printing. We will continue to maintain pressure on the Government of Sudan to improve its human rights record and will continue to raise human rights violations at every opportunity both bilaterally and as part of the EU/Sudan dialogue.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Sudan on the(a) death penalty and (b) use of torture. [136092]
§ Mr. MullinHuman rights in Sudan remain one of our priorities. We monitor the situation closely. Our embassy in Khartoum regularly lobbies the Government of Sudan on human rights, and pays particular attention to cases involving the death penalty, corporal punishments and allegations of torture.
The embassy continues to raise these issues both bilaterally and multilaterally as part of the recent EU Sudan dialogue. The last meeting of the EU Sudan dialogue was on 2 November 2003 which, among other issues, focused on press freedom and the application of "hudud" (amputations) punishments.
§ Mr. DawsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the UK's role in the Sudan peace process. [136162]
§ Mr. MullinWe continue to offer the parties and mediators our full support in their efforts to reach a comprehensive peace agreement, which we hope will be signed early in the New Year. During the break in the formal talks, due to resume on 30 November, we are encouraging the parties to maintain contact. In that respect, the UK Special Representative visited southern Sudan last week and had a useful meeting with the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
We are supporting the peace process in other ways; by broadening our humanitarian assistance to include direct support for the peace process and for early rehabilitation and peace-building work; by providing funds and personnel to the Joint Monitoring Commission (JMC) in the Nuba Mountains and the Verification Monitoring Team in the south.
823WWe are discussing what support we can provide immediately following a peace agreement so that the Sudanese people can see early benefits of peace. Assisting Sudan in its progress towards peace continues to be a high priority.
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to help bring about a lasting peace in Sudan. [136436]
§ Mr. MullinI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Dawson) today (UIN136162).
824W
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the release of political prisoners in Khartoum and Dafur, Sudan. [136091]
§ Mr. MullinI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 23 October 2003,Official Report, column 713W.
In Darfur, the release of prisoners affiliated to the Sudanese Liberation Movement was an encouraging sign in accordance with the Abeche cease-fire agreement. We continue to urge both parties to respect the cease-fire and support the political dialogue currently taking place in Abeche.