South Sudan

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 13th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that question. I am not aware of any influence from outside southern Sudan at present. The whole issue is that President Kiir and First Vice-President Machar are the ultimate decision-makers and they are accountable for their forces’ actions.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

The President of the Security Council has already supported UNMISS and expressed its readiness to enhance the mission. He has stressed the need for UNMISS to,

“make full use of its authority to use all necessary means to protect civilians”.

What action are the Government taking in support of keeping Juba airport open as a critical lifeline for humanitarian and relief workers, given potential wholesale evacuation? How are the Government responding to Ban Ki-moon’s call for an immediate arms embargo and sanctioning of leaders for blocking the peace deal?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, makes some good points, but, as I said to the noble Baroness, we and other countries on the UN Security Council are putting on pressure to have a complete arms embargo. He will also be aware that the mandate for UNMISS is up for renewal in July, and we will be looking carefully at how it can be engaged and, perhaps, altered in some way.

Sudan

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of sanctions against Sudan’s leaders and the extension of the UNAMID mandate, following recent reports by Amnesty International of alleged war crimes continuing to be committed by President Bashir’s regime in the Blue Nile, Darfur and South Kordofan regions.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, the recent reports on the impact of conflict on the people of Sudan are deeply troubling and show the continuing need for a strong international response. In June, the United Kingdom led negotiations that resulted in the successful renewal of a mandate focused on the protection of civilians for the AU/UN hybrid mission in Darfur, despite calls from the Government of Sudan for its exit. We are also working through the Security Council to increase the effectiveness of UN sanctions.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

I thank the Minister for that reply. Sudan has 570 tribes, speaking 595 different languages, and 57 ethnic groups, yet the overwhelming majority of the 300,000 killed by the Khartoum regime since 2003 and of the 3 million displaced refugees are from non-Arab, African tribal groups. That raises fears of incipient genocide. What action are the Government taking to press Khartoum to face the challenges of impunity and accountability as set out in 15 specific recommendations in the recent UN report? Has the massive trade deal signed by President al-Bashir with the Chinese not fatally undermined US-led sanctions and the remote chances of dialogue in Addis Ababa between rebels and Khartoum, so leading us towards stronger, UN-led intervention?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, to deal with the first part of the noble Lord’s question, I can say that we take action to press for an end to impunity at different levels. With EU partners, we continue to call for compliance with the ICC arrest warrants; through bilateral lobbying, UN Security Council action and support for the peace process, we continue to press the Government of Sudan for an end to aerial bombardments. I cannot comment on US sanctions policy. However, we continue to call for both the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict to engage in dialogue and to move towards a renewed and comprehensive peace process.