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Sudan

My Lords, I, too, thank the right reverend Prelate for expressing not only his concerns but those of the whole diocese of Salisbury. It is tragic to read of the latest fighting between Dinka and Nua and Shilluk in Southern Sudan. Over 30 years ago, I was the guest of the Sudan Council of Churches in that region. We must remember that it was the churches and not diplomats who laid the foundations of the peace agreements of Addis and Naivasha. The right reverend Prelate referred to the recent statement from seven church leaders condemning the failure of the north and of our international guarantors to make progress with the CPA. In their words: ""There is a widespread lack of confidence by Southerners ... in the fairness or true democracy of the upcoming elections and referendum because of a general lack of trustworthiness and transparency from the Northern government ... If the CPA is to be made to work, it must be fully implemented by both signatories and fully supported by those guarantor governments who promised to do so in 2005.""The Southern Sudanese people will now no longer accept any renegotiation of the CPA. If such a thing happens … the Southern Sudanese people will feel betrayed by the rest of the world as in 1956 and 1972"." That is the southern perspective, and politicians from Khartoum must recognise that unity is drifting away from them. The stakes are high. The National Democratic Institute in Washington estimates that 90 per cent of southerners would vote for independence in a referendum. We should welcome the new US initiative, led by the special envoy. The State Department argues that it is now time to act with a sense of urgency. I am sure that the Minister will explain what is delaying the agreement and how the US can assist the guarantors at this critical time. The most urgent area may be the JIUs, which are looking flaky at certain points, although they must provide security in some key areas, such as Malakal. That is a vital part of the CPA. Pre-election assessment is too slow. More work must go into the detailed legal framework, as others have said, to provide for credible elections—including voter education and monitoring—and to prepare for the referendum. Despite outbreaks of violence, October seems to have been a month of reconciliation. For example, more than 7,000 ex-combatants were disarmed in southern Kordofan. Opposition parties from north and south have met in Juba. In Abyei, the Dinka, Ngok and Misseriya seem to have sunk their differences, following the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision. Here, again, the US has had some impact, but I am sorry to hear that development funds are being held up for lack of United Nations and NGO support on the ground. Many humanitarian problems persist, and parts of the south face severe food insecurity. I hope that we shall continue to be the largest European humanitarian donor and continue our assistance through non-governmental organisations, where they are allowed to operate. The work of churches and NGOs has been impressive when we consider the lack of infrastructure and the conditions in which they have to work. Finally, I declare my interest as the treasurer of the All-Party Group on Sudan. I am pleased to say that we will publish a report early in the new year and have requested evidence from the Government and many other organisations. I trust that that will help to provide greater awareness of the urgent situation in Sudan.