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Sudan

My Lords, may I say how much I appreciate the opportunity to take part—with my noble friend Lady Tonge, who is far better versed in the affairs of Sudan than I am—in this debate this afternoon? The coming elections in Sudan have been very uncertain because of the census return and so on over the past two years. Some 20 political parties are threatening a new boycott of next year’s elections. The elections were supposed to be a milestone in the democratic transformation of Sudan, but the considerable challenges that it faces could very well destabilise the country and further undermine an already shaky peace deal between the north and the south. The London-based African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said that there had been an, ""increasing crackdown on freedom of expression in Sudan, targeting public discussion of, and preparation for, the elections. Since the beginning of August, Sudanese authorities have systematically targeted any activities, symposia, public rallies or lectures related to the elections"." The 20 discontented parties are demanding changes to laws on civil liberties, press freedom, democracy and transparency. The prime problem is the unfairness of the distribution of the oil revenue. Some 95 per cent of the oil revenue comes from the south, while 65 per cent comes from the Khartoum area. Some 50 per cent is supposed to go to the south; yet today’s news is that Southern Sudan’s semi-autonomous Government have received nearly £4.2 billion in oil revenue since they took over after the 2005 peace deal. The question is whether they are doing enough with the revenue for the people there. A report issued this morning tells us that in a village half-way up a steep mountain slope in Southern Sudan, a woman is grinding up leaves plucked from a tree. The drab green powder added to some water will have to do for her lunch. She says, "Every day we eat these leaves"—they are convinced that this very unhealthy diet might at least serve for the present. We have known of this dreadful situation in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan for many years, and the present distribution of income is doing nothing at all to alleviate it. The corruption in Khartoum—indeed, the whole situation—is very uncertain indeed. Signatories to the Juba declaration include the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement, which governs semi-autonomous Southern Sudan and has been a partner in the fragile national Government since 2005. The comprehensive peace agreement put an end to 20 years of the north-south war. In the Juba declaration, the parties have said that they will stay away from presidential, parliamentary and local polls unless the row over the results of the census, which affects electoral constituencies, is resolved. The President says: ""I believe that the general elections, if properly conducted, shall be a critical impetus for change and empowerment of our people to choose their political leaders and elect their democratic institutions"." But his concern is that the results of the population census are, ""too flawed and lack the minimum acceptable level of credibility"." He added: ""Without the resolution of this issue … the election process, despite our preparedness for it, may be put in jeopardy"." Most of the people facing a poll have never voted in their lives. It is a very complex poll and it is in jeopardy because of the flaky census results. The stakes are very high. If the election should lack credibility, it is hard to see how the comprehensive peace agreement can survive.