Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Thursday, 6 December 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 December 2007. It was answered by Jim Murphy (Labour) on Thursday, 13 December 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government of Sudan has approved landing and night flying rights to all UNAMID aircraft.

Answer: UN Under-Secretary-General, Jean-Marie Guehenno, Head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), told the UN Security Council on 27 November that the Government of Sudan had not approved adequate night flying rights for aircraft of the UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID).However, representatives of the DPKO discussed UNAMID deployment, including landing and night flying, with representatives of the Government of Sudan on 8 December. The press statement released after the meeting noted that both sides agreed on the importance of the full and timely implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1769 and agreed to continue their discussions to resolve issues.We have pressed the Government of Sudan to co-operate fully with the DPKO over UNAMID deployment and we continue to monitor closely their discussions.

Secondary information