South Sudan

Lord Bates Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Lord Bates) (Con)]

My Lords, as always when this subject is raised, it has been a fascinating and extremely well-informed debate. The noble Lord, Lord Curry, to whom we all pay tribute for securing this debate, reminded us at the outset of the level of hope at the birth of the nation in 2011. He went on to explain the layers of complexity that existed then, and about the enormous natural resources and fertile lands that were there. He reminded us that doing nothing is not an option.

My noble friend Lady Anelay, who did so much in this area when she was the Prime Minister’s special representative on preventing sexual violence, and who was of course my predecessor as Minister of State at DfID and a distinguished Foreign Office Minister, reminded us that this is a manmade battle for power and wealth. She included that powerful quote from the South Sudanese MP, Martha Martin Dar, which in many ways captures what is driving this. She described it as a war that is manmade, a political battle for power and wealth and a war that uses sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon. She is exasperated with those who sell arms to both sides to prolong the conflict.

The noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, talked about the resilience of the nation, the depravity of sexual violence and how it is being used, and how women and children are once again the front-line victims of this conflict. The noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, referred to the work of the all-party group on South Sudan, which has done tremendous work. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, referred to it as well. He talked about the initial hopeful migration—almost the exodus, if you like—that had taken place, and then the stark reality, particularly with those stories of children as young as 11 in the capital city.

The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, reminded us that, whatever the temptation to despair, the international committee must persevere. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Rochester reminded us of the importance of the Church’s role. He reminded us of the special connection with the diocese of Salisbury and of the special commitment of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury, who I know Chris Trott, the UK special representative for Sudan and South Sudan, will meet later this week on the importance of peacekeeping and reconciliation.

The noble Lord, Lord Alton, talked about the effect in Uganda of the refugee crisis and urged us to take further action to bring those responsible to justice. The noble Baroness, Lady Cox, again drew on her personal experiences and the incredible work of HART in caring for those in need. She raised questions about how we can improve the way we get emergency funding into crisis situations and work to do more on peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, gave that stark statistic that more people die through preventable health crisis situations in conflict areas than through the conflict itself. She stressed the importance of providing support. But she also gave us an element of hope by quoting from the KPMG report, which talked about the incredible natural resources, minerals and agriculture present in that land, if they can only be tapped into securely. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, concluded by saying that we must use every lever and tool that we have in the box in diplomacy, sanctions and funds to ensure that we rally round all nascent peace agreements to try to make progress.

In the time available, I will make some remarks then turn to the specific questions that noble Lords raised. As many noble Lords have already said, the situation in South Sudan is appalling. We should be under no illusions that the humanitarian catastrophe the country is experiencing is entirely manmade. Thousands have been killed and a third of the population have fled their homes. Conflict is driving the largest refugee crisis in Africa. Appalling and widespread human rights abuses continue to be reported, including horrific levels of sexual and gender-based violence.

The conflict continues to drive a severe humanitarian crisis. The UN has appealed for $1.72 billion this year alone to address the acute needs of the people. Food insecurity is at its worst in the country’s history. South Sudan is fertile enough to grow all the food it needs, but fighting continues to impair agricultural production. As the lean season begins, 7 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. Due to ongoing obstructions faced by the humanitarian community, famine remains a risk in some areas.

Conflict has decimated South Sudan’s fragile health and education systems. South Sudan has one of the highest rates of severe poverty in the world and its health needs are vast. The South Sudanese economy is also in crisis, exacerbated by the dire humanitarian situation. Inflation, as the noble Lord, Lord Curry, reminded us, is soaring and average household incomes have fallen by 80% since 2013 when fighting began.

As it acts to address the crisis, the international community continues to face obstructions. According to the UN, in 2017 there were more incidents than ever before of aid being obstructed. It estimates that the Government of South Sudan are responsible for more than half these incidents. In addition, 106 aid workers have been killed since the conflict began. The targeting of those trying to alleviate the crisis is barbaric and must cease immediately.

Noble Lords will be aware that the UK Government have been at the forefront of the international response to the crisis. We are consistently one of the top three donors. UK aid is reaching hundreds of thousands of people and saving lives despite the challenging operating environment. It is clear that the solution to South Sudan’s crisis is political stability. Without it, suffering will worsen and dire consequences for more generations to come will ensue. Efforts to put the peace process back on track have been led by the regional body, IGAD. The UK, along with our international partners, has been working closely with IGAD and its member states to give high-level dialogue between the parties the best chance of success.

Noble Lords referred to the talks held in Khartoum last week between President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar and other opposition parties. They signed the Khartoum declaration on 27 June, including agreement on a permanent ceasefire. The UK, with our troika partners, commends IGAD’s efforts to drive forward the peace process and we take note of the Khartoum declaration. We hope that the principles it outlines will help build confidence between the parties and guide the difficult decisions needed to reach comprehensive wider agreement. While we welcome the renewed commitment to a permanent ceasefire, both the region and the parties to the conflict must ensure that the agreement is implemented in full without delay and is robustly and independently monitored. A sustained end to the fighting is a critical prerequisite for that process.

I will address as many questions as I can in the time available. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, asked about anti-money laundering actions and what sanctions might be available. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act provides the power for the UK to impose sanctions on regimes after the UK has left the EU, including against individuals involved in gross human rights abuses, via so-called Magnitsky clauses. The UK is committed to promoting peace and strengthening human rights in South Sudan and holding to account those responsible for the worst violations. I will address the specific points raised about the UN Security Council later.

The noble Lord also asked what we were doing to help South Sudan’s health system. The UK is a leading contributor to the health sector in South Sudan. We are the lead donor to the multi-donor Health Pooled Fund, through which we are supporting 800 front-line health centres, delivering health and nutrition services for children and mothers in 80% of the country. Last year the Health Pooled Fund provided more than 6.5 million health treatment consultations, including 2.5 million to children under five.

The noble Lord spoke about corruption. Corruption continues to plague South Sudan’s development. The international community must ensure that our support does not fuel or prolong the conflict. The UK has a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and the diversion of aid. We do not give any money to the Government of South Sudan and make it clear at the highest levels that we will not tolerate attempts to divert aid for such purposes. On the subject of diplomacy and the work that has been done by President Museveni, we recognise the important role regional leaders can play in pressuring South Sudan’s leaders to allow the peace process to succeed. Ministers regularly raise this issue with regional counterparts. In fact, I did so with President Museveni in Kampala last year.

The noble Baroness, Lady Cox, asked about the availability of emergency funds. DfID monitors the humanitarian situation closely with international partners such as the UN. For example, between January and March 2018, money was released to UNICEF to enable emergency cholera prevention. We have also released emergency money through the World Food Programme. She asked about specific issues relating to HART. I am happy to meet her to see what we can do to improve our performance in that area.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, asked about the refugee crisis. In December the UK announced an additional £52 million to be made available to cope with the influx of refugees to countries in the region, including Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia. Through DfID’s South Sudanese refugees and migration programme, we have provided life-saving support and humanitarian assistance for up to 150,000 South Sudanese refugees in Sudan.

My noble friend Lady Anelay asked about the progress of the troika on the ceasefire. We welcome the Government of South Sudan’s commitment as a signatory to the Khartoum declaration. In spite of repeated commitments, the international community continues to face obstructions to the delivery of life-saving aid, and this is unacceptable.

The noble Lord, Lord Curry, called for an embargo on arms. We strongly support the UN arms embargo and have been lobbying in the region for support for precisely that approach. He talked about the dependence on aid and the need for that to be reduced. The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is unprecedented. The UK remains committed to the people of South Sudan but humanitarian aid is not sustainable. Peace must be achieved and prosperity built on the immense natural resources in the country.

My noble friend Lady Anelay asked about our position on current projects and whether we are still the second-largest contributor. Yes, we are. The UK is the second-largest humanitarian contributor to the 2018 humanitarian response in South Sudan, according to the UN, but we are also urging other countries to step up to the plate and meet the entire target that has been set in terms of the needs. She also asked about our plans to protect civilians. As requested by the UN, nearly 400 UK troops have been deployed to support the UK mission, and I join other noble Lords in paying tribute to their performance. They have been awarded peacekeeping medals for the selfless way in which they have worked to protect people, particularly in the camps. My noble friend asked what we intend to do to encourage others to comply. We have played a leading role in the Security Council’s decision in May committing to consider sanctions and an arms embargo if violence does not cease. We also played a leading role in the implementation of EU sanctions against three key South Sudanese leaders in February this year and welcome the introduction by the US of an arms embargo echoing the EU’s long-standing position.

The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Rochester asked what we will do to continue to engage with faith groups. We believe that they are significant. Indeed, the only institutions on the ground are the faith institutions, the churches. We confirm that the UK will continue to engage with them. The UK recognises the vital role that the Church has to play in establishing peace in South Sudan. The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, asked which countries contribute troops to the UN mission. They are Mongolia, South Korea, India, Ethiopia and Rwanda, among others.

The noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, asked about actions taken by the UK to address the root causes of the conflict. The UK provides funding for the South Sudan Council of Churches’ action plan for peace.

I realise that I have not covered all the points, but I shall draw to a close by making two points. First, the UK Government are clear that the new ceasefire does not negate the need to respond to repeated violations of the December 2017 cessation of hostilities agreement. We stand ready to support the action of IGAD and the African Union. We will continue to seek measures through the UN Security Council. It is also crucial that the agreement sees the inclusion of a wide range of constituencies, including civil society, and we will continue to work with the South Sudan Council of Churches.

Before I conclude, I should say that I am delighted that Chris Trott has done incredible work with his team in peacebuilding on the ground—the hard work. He is a human dynamo in the way he works around this area. He has joined us in the Box this evening, and if noble Lords would care to adjourn to an appropriate Committee Room where refreshments are served, they can join us to discuss this.

In answer to the challenge about South Sudan, we will not walk by on the other side when people are suffering. That is not what the UK does. That is our reputation in this world. We will not give up hope.

House adjourned at 6.59 pm.