§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent vote in the UN Human Rights Commission concerning the human rights situation in Western Sudan, with particular reference to the Government's position on the two defeated amendments to the Human Rights Commission's decision on the Sudan moved by the United States. [172665]
§ Mr. Straw[holding answer 12 May 2004]: The language of the Commission on Human Rights decision on Sudan was disappointingly weak. But it was a better outcome than last year, as the decision mandates an independent expert to provide formal international scrutiny of the human rights situation in Sudan. The EU insisted on the establishment of an independent expert to carry out this work. Such international scrutiny has been lacking since the end of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur when the EU-sponsored Sudan Resolution was defeated at last year's Commission on Human Rights.
We fully supported the draft EU Item 9 Resolution on Sudan, but Commission on Human Rights procedure meant that an alternative draft decision on Sudan, tabled by the African Group under a different agenda item, took precedence. We also supported the two amendments to the decision proposed by the US, but these were defeated in a vote.