§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Secretary of State for International Development's letter of 713W 25 May 2004 to the hon. Member for Buckingham, what the response was of the Sudanese Foreign Minister to the representations made to him about the activities of the Janjaweed militias in Darfur. [177385]
§ Mr. MullinMy right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn), and I pressed the Sudanese Foreign Minister on the need to rein in the Janjaweed militias when he visited London on 11 May. The Sudanese Foreign Minister agreed, and said that his Government was taking steps to disarm these militias, and to reintegrate them into society. In the longer term he saw a political settlement as the best way to ensure a sustainable solution to the problems in Darfur.
During his visit to Sudan on 6 to 8 June the Secretary of State for International Development pressed the First Vice-President, among others, on the need to rein in the Janjaweed militias.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Secretary of State for International Development's letter of 25 May 2004 to the hon. Member for Buckingham, if he will list the issues of detail to be determined for progress to be made from the framework agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement to the comprehensive peace agreement envisaged for the parties. [177402]
§ Mr. MullinThe principal remaining tasks are agreements on ceasefire and security arrangements and on the modalities of implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the Ceasefire Monitoring Commission on Sudan to begin its work. [177403]
§ Mr. MullinThe AU-led Ceasefire Commission for Darfur has now started to deploy. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) met members of this Commission in Darfur on 7 June. We hope that the bulk of this deployment will be completed in the next few weeks. We are currently working to identify a suitable British candidate to join the Ceasefire Commission and have already made a financial contribution of £2 million.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what dialogue the British Government have had with the(a) Sur, (b) Masalit and (c) Zaghawa ethnic groups in the Darfur area of Sudan. [178003]
§ Mr. MullinWe try to maintain regular contact with all Darfur groups, and in particular those affected by the conflict. Our embassy in Khartoum have met with members of each of these three groups.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what monitoring the British Government are undertaking of outrages in Darfur, Sudan; [178004]
(2) what British representation there will be in the numbers of military observers pledged to maintain the ceasefire in Darfur, Sudan. [178018]
714W
§ Mr. MullinWe see the deployment of the African Union (AU) ceasefire monitoring team as key to improving the security situation and addressing civilian protection. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development met with military observers from the AU team during his visit to Darfur on 7 June. The AU plan to deploy a full team of 120 observers as quickly as possible. The UK will contribute one of the six observers requested from the EU, and we hope other contributing nations will send their observers soon. The Government of Sudan have promised full support for the monitors, and the UK has provided £2 million to help the AU team to set up. In addition, the UN plan to deploy human rights monitors throughout Darfur with UK financial support.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further action his Department is taking to help resolve the situation in Sudan through the United Nations and prevent further human rights abuses. [178105]
§ Mr. MullinI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Jim Cunningham) on 10 June 2004 (UIN 176616).