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Sudan

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this constructive and stimulating debate on a country with great problems. In particular I am grateful to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Salisbury for prompting the discussion. The right reverend Prelate has identified some of the core issues and considerable difficulties that we face in Sudan. Noble Lords analysed all the problems that we recognise and for which we have great difficulty seeing immediate solutions. I also have great difficulty believing that in the eight minutes that remain I will be able to answer all the questions. We are due to finish at 4.55 pm and I did not rise to my feet until a minute ago. However, I will write to all noble Lords. I agree with the comment made by the noble Lord, Lord Luce, and others, that the comprehensive peace agreement remains the foundation for the future peace and stability that one needs to ensure that any development can take place. As the right reverend Prelate also said in his introductory remarks, we are approaching the end of the interim period in 2011 and face a series of problems that have been identified by noble Lords concerning issues such as the referendum. There is a deep urgency to resolve the impasse that exists between both main parties over the census and election arrangements—we are within six months of the election and 15 months of the referendum. High-level discussions on these issues are under way between Vice-President Ali Osman Taha and the Vice-President of South Sudan, Riek Machar. The discussions seek to bridge the disagreement over the census results and reach agreement on the election arrangements, which depend on the census for constituency demarcation. Both parties are also debating the content of the referendum Bill in order that it should meet its parliamentary timetable and we can move forward. We welcome indications in recent weeks that the parties are moving closer to agreement on these issues, and we are supporting efforts to encourage this. My ministerial colleague Gareth Thomas visited Khartoum and Juba on 14-15 October for this purpose and met senior members of the NCP and SPLM. Our ministerial team in DfID and the FCO is closely engaged on the issue, and I welcome the extensive experience of development issues that my noble friend Lady Kinnock is able to bring to Sudan in her new role as Minister for Africa. We share noble Lords’ concerns about the slow progress of preparations for the elections. There are significant political and technical challenges to be overcome. We are closely engaged to ensure that these issues are addressed by the National Elections Commission. We are also working with partners in Khartoum on a robust mechanism to assess progress towards free and fair elections. We have committed £11 million in support of the elections so far, which is focused on the technical preparation, voter education and conflict management. We also are pressing the European Commission to deploy an EU election observation mission. Across all the areas that I have mentioned, Her Majesty’s Government are actively engaged with the Government of National Unity and other partners in seeking progress. We are working particularly closely with the United States and its special envoy General Gration, and with Norway, as part of the troika. We are also in close contact with the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, chaired by Sir Derek Plumbly. Finally, we are pressing both parties to address outstanding Abyei milestones, to complete the north-south border demarcation and to give serious consideration to oil revenues and the sharing of them, to which a number of noble Lords referred. On the insecurity and violence in Southern Sudan, we are deeply concerned by the ongoing tribal fighting and by attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army. The violence is having a terrible impact on the ordinary lives of the Sudanese, as has been said, which risks undermining the implementation of the CPA. The UK is providing significant support to Southern Sudan to help to address this insecurity, to provide emergency relief and to support broader development issues. I will return to the latter when I deal with noble Lords’ questions. A significant focus of our assistance is on helping strengthen the capacity of the Government of Southern Sudan—GoSS—to address the challenges. We are also supporting community-led conflict resolution and arms-control programmes. At a political level, we have raised the issue of insecurity at very senior levels with GoSS, including with President Salva Kiir. GoSS also have a critical role to play in seeking proactively to prevent the violence and to address root causes by promoting dialogue and reconciliation with the affected communities. The UN mission in Sudan—UNMIS—also has a key role to play in supporting GoSS. I also highlight the UK’s leading contribution to demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration—DDR—in Sudan. DDR is a key component of the security arrangements of the CPA and critical in the support of stability and recovery across Sudan. The DDR programme was launched in February. So far, it has demobilised more than 12,000 ex-combatants, and we have committed some £20 million between 2009 and 2011 to that cause. Finally, I draw attention to the value of involving senior figures in the faith communities, which have been highlighted, in addressing the current insecurity. The head of the British embassy office in Juba recently met local Anglican and Catholic archbishops to discuss the insecurity. On this note, I should say how much we welcome our regular dialogue with the diocese of Salisbury, which has strong links to the Episcopal Church of Sudan, as well as to other church groups and many other actively engaged NGOs. I echo the point that in many cases faith groups have the closest contact, see the hardship, and seek to alleviate it on the ground. I hope that I have been able to outline some of the challenges that we face. Your Lordships have certainly done a tremendous job in filling in the detail, particularly of the elections, the referendum, security in the south, and what we need to do to address these questions. I will try to deal with some of the points that were made in the debate. The noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, asked about our assessment of the insecurity in Southern Sudan. Other noble Lords made the point that more people have died this year in Southern Sudan as a result of tribal fighting in Darfur, and the LRA has forced more than 300,000 people from their homes—more than double the number in 2008. We are urging the Government of Southern Sudan and UNMIS to respond proactively, and are supporting a range of programmes to strengthen law enforcement and community-led security work to promote reconciliation. The noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Llandudno, talked about the Juba compact, which was signed this June and which we welcome. It is an important response to the crisis in Southern Sudan and is now the key to ensuring robust implementation. Donors are taking forward their commitments under the compact, and we are urging GoSS to do the same. A number of noble Lords referred to arms transfers from the Government of Sudan to groups in the south. We have no hard evidence of this being the case, but there are anecdotal reports of it happening. Until we have evidence suggesting that this is actually happening, we have to continue to press both parts of the divided community in that regard. Registration for voting started this week. Our embassy in Khartoum and the mission in Juba are monitoring the registration of voters and we have urged the EU to deploy a mission, as I have said. As regards assistance to Southern Sudan for humanitarian purposes, £28 million is being provided for basic research services, helping some 300,000 children. The noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, raised the question of our co-operation with the United States review. We are co-operating with that review. It is important that we co-operate simultaneously in Darfur and with the implementation of the CPA. I shall answer in writing other questions that were raised, particularly those asked by the noble Baroness at the end of the debate. We have had a stimulating debate. We need to keep this issue in the public arena. Long-term issues are involved. We have a commitment and responsibility to that part of the world. I believe that the Government are doing everything they can and, with the support of your Lordships, will continue to do everything they can, to bring peace and stability to that troubled country.