Sudan

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Grand Committee

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for initiating this debate. Sudan is a country that has a more or less constant history of civil wars, military coups and human rights abuses. As the noble Lord, Lord Alton, pointed out, President Bashir has been indicted under the International Criminal Court. We all hope that Sudan is on a road map, and we have of course heard about the African Union’s road map. Can the Minister tell us more about how that road map might lead to greater peace and security in a country that deserves far better?

We have heard in the debate about the recent visit to Sudan—just a few weeks ago—by Sir Simon McDonald from the FCO, who was accompanied by the DfID Permanent Secretary, Sir Mark Lowcock. In their exchanges with the Government of Sudan, and also with opposition leaders whom they had the opportunity to meet, we are told that they raised the question of human rights and migration, and humanitarian and development assistance. What is the Government’s assessment of those discussions in relation to human rights abuses? What assurances did they get on how these might be addressed?

We have also heard in the debate about bringing Sudan back more formally into the international community. We heard recently that President Trump had included Sudan in his ban on visitors to the US; what is the Government’s assessment of the impact that the ban might have in terms of giving succour to the terrorists? The Home Secretary described the ban as a “propaganda opportunity” for ISIS. As we have also heard, DfID spends nearly £50 million a year in Sudan. I hope that the Minister can tell us what the Government’s assessment is of the impact of that aid in transforming the country economically and, more importantly, in terms of civil society and defending human rights.