HC Deb 27 May 2004 vol 421 cc1750-6W
Tom Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance is being given to Sudan by the European Union in 2004–05. [175157]

Mr. Gareth Thomas

The estimated disbursements from the European Development Fund for Sudan in 2004 is €14.3 million. Subject to a comprehensive peace agreement being signed in 2004 an indicative allocation of a further €150 million may be available over the period to 2007.

In addition further humanitarian assistance will be made available for Sudan through European Humanitarian Office (ECHO).

DFID also understands that the European Community has committed €1.5 million to support the Peace Talks and the Verification Monitoring Team, which is responsible for investigating and reporting on breaches of the Memorandum of Understanding on the cessation of hostilities in southern Sudan. A further €475,000 has been made available in support of the Darfur peace talks.

Tom Brake

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department(a) has taken in the past month and (b) plans to take in June in relation to the situation in Darfur, Sudan, broken down by type of action; and what funding has been allocated to each action. [175767]

Hilary Benn

In April 2004, I set aside an additional £10 million to be committed to agencies engaged in humanitarian relief in Darfur1. In the last month, DFID has committed funding to the following agencies.

Agency Type of activity Total commitment (£)
OXFAM Public Health Humanitarian

Response Darfur (Water/Sanitation Programme)

2,193,161
WFP Emergency purchase and

distribution of Food Aid for internally displaced Sudanese

in Darfur.

2,000,000
WHO Emergency primary health

care and response to

communicable diseases in

Darfur; support to measles

vaccination programme

1,500,000
UNICEF Additional support to

humanitarian assistance for

crisis in Darfur; emergency

nutrition; emergency health

care and the protection of

children

1,500,000
UN Joint

Logistics

Centre

Support to enable UNJLC

to co-ordinate the logistics of an

effective humanitarian

response in Darfur

250,000

In addition to financial commitments in May, the UK has seconded three humanitarian experts to the UN Joint Logistics Centre in Darfur. DFID has also provided in-kind donations of non-food items (22,500 blankets and 15,000 plastic sheets) for distribution by humanitarian agencies.

In June, DFID plans to continue committing the remainder of the £10 million to humanitarian agencies who are operational in Darfur and will continue to monitor the situation and keep the level of our response under review.

In addition to DFID's provision of humanitarian assistance, I have also taken measures to secure access for humanitarian relief. The Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Africa and I all raised this subject with the Sudanese Foreign Minister during his recent visit to the United Kingdom, and the UK Special Representative and our Ambassador in Khartoum had further discussions with the Government on this issue last week. Later, 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.

Since the ceasefire agreement at N'Djamena on 8 April, the UK has been in close contact with the parties and other members of the international community, including the African Union, to try and help set up the Ceasefire Commission Monitoring Mechanism set out in the 8 April agreement. I spoke to Said Djinnit, the

Period Agency Description Total cost (£)
October to December 2003 UNHCR Supplementary Appeal for Emergency Assistance to

Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad—2003

1,000,000
October 2003 to September 2004 SC-UK Emergency Response to Conflict Related Internal

Displacement in North Darfur

500,000
November to December 2003 ICRC Contribution to the ICRC 2003 Emergency Appeal

for Sudan

1,000,000
November 2003 to March 2004 WFP Additional Contribution to 2003 UN Appeal, due to

Crisis in Darfur, to Provide Emergency Food

Assistance to Sudanese Populations Affected by War

and Natural Disasters

2,000,000
January to April 2004 MSF-F Emergency Assistance to IDPs in Darfur—through

increasing access to health care in conflict areas,

disease prevention, halting nutritional deterioration

and treating malnourished children

491,369
January to December 2004 MSF-H Darfur Components of Emergency Health

Interventions in Northern Sudan Project

650,000
February to December 2004 UNICEF Emergency Assistance to Humanitarian Crisis in

Darfur for Health; Water Supply; Water and

Environmental Sanitation; Relief and Shelter Items;

and the Protection of Children

1,000,000
February to November 2004 GOAL Emergency Assistance to Population in Kutum

Province, North Darfur—through a combined

Health, Nutrition and Shelter Intervention

575,963
March to December 2004 ACF Emergency Nutrition Programme in North Darfur 250,000
March to December 2004 WFP Emergency Distribution of Food Aid Commodities to

Sudanese Refugees in North East Chad

1,000,000
March 2004 to January 2005 UNHCR Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in

Eastern Chad

1,000,000
April 2004 to December 2004 OXFAM Public Health Humanitarian Response Darfur

(Water/Sanitation Programme)

2,193,161
May 2004 to December 2004 WFP Emergency purchase and distribution of Food Aid for

internally displaced Sudanese in Darfur

2,000,000
May 2004 to November 2004 WHO Emergency primary health care and response to

communicable diseases in Darfur; support to measles

vaccination programme

1,500,000
May 2004 to December 2004 UNICEF Additional support to humanitarian assistance for

crisis in Darfur; emergency nutrition; emergency

health care and the protection of children

1,500,000
May 2004 to July 2004 UN Joint Logistics

Centre

Support to enable UN Joint Logistics Centre to co-

ordinate the logistics of an effective humanitarian

response in Sudan

250,000
Total 16,910,493

Peace and Security Commissioner of the African Union, on 10 May, about the urgent need to get the team in place. DFID will provide swift and significant funding to enable a rapid deployment and are encouraging other donors to do the same. 1DFID commitment since October 2003 now total over £17.5 million

Tom Brake

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is giving to alleviate the situation in(a) Sudan and (b) Chad. [175770]

Mr. Gareth Thomas

DFID has committed over £16.9 million to humanitarian agencies providing assistance to people affected by the situation in Darfur, Sudan, of which £3 million has been committed to agencies providing relief to the refugees who have fled into Eastern Chad. DFID has also contributed 19 per cent. of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)'s commitments to NGOs operating in Darfur and Eastern Chad. (ECHO has committed over £4.5 million).

A breakdown of DFID commitments is given as follows.

DFID has allocated £35 million for bilateral assistance to Sudan in 2004–05. This will be spent in the following areas:

  • Life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian, recovery and reintegration assistance.
  • Assistance for parties to implement the peace agreement including military/political arrangements and to build the consensus for peace more widely.
  • Support for the development of an effective public administration, state security and judicial system throughout Sudan.
  • Support for development and implementation of policies for poverty reduction.

DFID does not have a bilateral programme in Chad.

Clare Short

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action he has taken to secure access to Darfur for humanitarian relief; and if he will make a statement. [175839]

Hilary Benn

[holding answer 25 May 2004]: Pursuant to the response given to UIN 175839 on Wednesday 26 May.

I remain deeply concerned about the grave situation in Darfur, western Sudan. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Minister for Africa (Chris Mullin) and I all registered our serious concerns about the humanitarian and human rights situation with the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, when he visited London on 11 May. The UK Special Representative and our Ambassador in Khartoum had further detailed discussions about Darfur with several Government Ministers and senior officials in Khartoum last week.

I spoke to Mr. Ismail again on 20 May and he told me he had announced new measures governing the issue of visas and travel permits to humanitarian workers wishing to travel to Darfur. These new measures came into effect on 24 May and include the following: all visas for NGOs, donors, the ICRC, the UN and other humanitarian workers going to Darfur will be issued by Sudanese Embassies within 48 hours; visas will now last for three months rather than one; the requirement for permits to travel from Khartoum to Darfur has been cancelled—notification of travel plans is now the sole requirement; unrestricted movement in Darfur is permitted, subject to UN security co-ordinating movements; a special customs officer will be appointed to facilitate the smooth movement of humanitarian freight.

We welcomed this announcement, and have been monitoring its implementation closely. Initial indications are that these new procedures are working.

Humanitarian needs in Darfur remain enormous. Over one million people are internally displaced and a further 120,000 have fled across the border into Chad. Their circumstances are precarious and are likely to worsen with the onset of rains in the region. The UK has committed over £17.5 million to humanitarian agencies working in Darfur and eastern Chad (see table). We are the second largest donor in Darfur after the US. Our commitments include £5 million agreed on 11 May to support WFP, WHO and UNICEF, as well as commitments in the last two weeks of £670,000 to MSF-Belgium for emergency health care in North Darfur and £250,000 for the UN Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC). We have also seconded seven humanitarian experts, four of whom are supporting OCHA in Khartoum and in Darfur and three of whom are working in UNJLC to improve the co-ordination of relief. In addition we have provided 15,000 plastic sheets and 22,500 blankets for distribution by agencies. We also contribute 19 per cent. of the cost of ECHO'S commitment—of £4.5 million—to NGOs working in Darfur and Chad. Despite our efforts, we are concerned that the recent UN appeal remains significantly under funded, and we are urging other donors to increase their contributions.

The Sudanese Government can be in no doubt about the seriousness with which we view the situation. We have made it very clear that we expect the parties to implement fully the 8 April ceasefire agreement, including by ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access. Both parties must to put an end to all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The Sudanese Government must act now to rein in the Janjaweed militias who seem to be responsible for some of the worst atrocities.

In terms of improving the security situation in Darfur, our priority remains rapid deployment of the African Union-led Ceasefire Monitoring Commission (CFC). To this end we are in almost daily contact with the AU through our Embassy in Addis Ababa, and with other members of the international community. The AU mission has now returned from its reconnaissance visit, and they are currently putting together an operational plan and outline budget. These will be discussed today by the Sudanese Government and opposition groups in Addis Ababa. We then plan to make a swift and significant contribution to the CFC and are encouraging other donors to do the same.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has now issued its report on Darfur and the Security Council has been briefed on its contents. It identifies disturbing patterns of human rights violations in Darfur, including forced displacement, arbitrary killing of civilians, and rape, perpetrated by the Sudanese Government and its proxy militia, many of which may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. Further urgent discussions are taking place on what action should now be taken in light of the report's recommendations. We, with our EU partners, have also made clear that all alleged attacks should be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. We are also in close contact with the OHCHR about Darfur, and are working to ensure that the Independent Expert, mandated by the 23 April Commission on Human Rights decision on Sudan, is appointed as soon as possible.

The House will also want to be aware that on 26 May the Protocols on power-sharing and the three areas of the Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile and Abyei were signed at the Sudan peace talks in Naivasha, Kenya. The UK has played an important role in supporting the parties at the peace talks and was represented at the signing ceremony by our Special

1 UK government-funded humanitarian support in response to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan
Period Agency Description Total cost (£)
October to December 2003 UNHCR Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad—2003 1,000,000
October 2003 to September 2004 SC-UK Related Internal Displacement in North Darfur 500,000
November to December 2003 ICRC Contribution to the ICRC 2003 Emergency Appeal for Sudan

Additional Contribution to 2003 UN Appeal, due to Crisis in

Darfur, to Provide Emergency Food Assistance to Sudanese

1,000,000
November 2003 to March 2004 WFP Populations Affected by War and Natural Disasters

Emergency Assistance to IDPs in Darfur—through increasing

access to health care in conflict areas, disease prevention,

2,000,000
January to April 2004 MSF-F halting nutritional deterioration and treating malnourished

children

491,369
January to December 2004 MSF-H Darfur Components of Emergency Health Interventions in

Northern Sudan Project

650,000
February to December 2004 UNICEF Emergency Assistance to Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur for

Health; Water Supply; Water and Environmental Sanitation;

Relief and Shelter Items; and the Protection of Children

1,000,000
February to November 2004 GOAL Emergency Assistance to Population in Kutum Province,

North Darfur—through a combined Health, Nutrition and

Shelter Intervention

575,963
March to December 2004 ACF Emergency Nutrition Programme in North Darfur 250,000
March to December 2004 WFP Emergency Distribution of Food Aid Commodities to

Sudanese Refugees in North East Chad

1,000,000
March 2004 to January 2005 UNHCR Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad 1,000,000
April 2004 to December 2004 OXFAM Public Health Humanitarian Response Darfur (Water/

Sanitation Programme)

2,193,161
May 2004 to December 2004 WFP Emergency purchase and distribution of Food Aid for

internally displaced Sudanese in Darfur.

2,000,000
May 2004 to November 2004 WHO Emergency primary health care and response to communicable

diseases in Darfur; support to measles vaccination programme

1,500,000
May 2004 to December 2004 UNICEF Additional support to humanitarian assistance for crisis in

Darfur; emergency nutrition; emergency health care and the

protection of children

1,500,000
May 2004 to July 2004 UN Joint Logistics

Centre

Support to enable UNJLC to co-ordinate the logistics of an

effective humanitarian response in Sudan

250,000
May 2004 to October 2004 MSF-Belgium Emergency Health Care for IDPs in North Darfur 671,300
Total 17,581,793
1 In addition we have also seconded four humanitarian officers to OCHA and three to the UN Joint Logistics Centre to work on Darfur.

Representative for Sudan, Alan Goulty. The signing is a welcome and significant step towards a comprehensive peace agreement that will bring an end to decades of conflict in the south of Sudan.

I will keep the House updated on developments.