Darfur (Hansard, 25 May 2004)

§ Mr. Mullin

We are seriously concerned about the crisis in Darfur. The humanitarian needs are enormous, and civilian protection is a priority. The UN have reported disturbing patterns of massive human rights violations which may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. While the UN's report makes no conclusion as to ethnic cleansing, it does note that attacks by Government forces and Janjaweed militia appear to have been largely ethnically based. We, and our EU partners, have made clear that alleged abuses should be thoroughly investigated.

My right hon. Friends, the Foreign Secretary, the Secretary of State for International Development, and I registered strongly our concerns with the Sudanese Foreign Minister when he visited London on 11 May. We are calling on the Government of Sudan and the Darfur groups to implement fully the 8 April ceasefire agreement. In particular the Sudanese Government must act now to rein in the Janjaweed, and all parties should co-operate to enable quick deployment of the African Union-led ceasefire monitoring mission. We expect deployment of this mechanism to have a positive effect on civilian protection, and are currently considering a possible UK contribution to it. We hope that a fully-monitored ceasefire and improved humanitarian access will provide a conducive atmosphere for inclusive political talks on the future of Darfur to begin as soon as possible.

On 20 May the Sudanese Foreign Minister announced new measures governing the issue of visas and travel permits to humanitarian workers wishing to travel to Darfur. We hope that these measures will facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to a population in great need. The Department for International Development have already committed over £16.5 million to UN agencies, the Red Cross and operational NGOs in response to the crisis, making the UK the second biggest bilateral donor in Darfur. We have also provided key personnel to support the UN co-ordination effort.