Abyei

Debate between Baroness Verma and Baroness Cox

Wednesday 25th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My noble friend raises the important point of Abyei being able to hold the referendum. We are urging both sides to come back to the negotiating table. It is crucial that the people of Abyei have a say. Unfortunately, the current circumstances make that incredibly difficult, but we will, through the international community and the UN and UNMIS, continue to urge both sides to come to the table.

[Baroness Cox]

Is the noble Baroness aware that when I visited Southern Kordofan last year the people there were so terrified of their future under Khartoum—they are in a very similar situation to Abyei—that they believed that they might have to take a pre-emptive strike? Does she agree that any further conflict will further undermine the stability of Southern Sudan as it prepares for its independence? What reassurance can be given to the people of all these marginalised areas—Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei—that their future rights and their security and protection will be provided?

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right that the people of those regions have to feel that they are part and parcel of the negotiations and that currently they feel marginalised. We urge, through President Mbeki’s AU High-Level Implementation Panel and the United Nations and UNMIS, that these issues are resolved peacefully, but we realise that it is a difficult area. We are going back to the international community time and again to ensure that the concerns that the noble Baroness and others raise are always at the table.