Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation of the case. The first point that strikes us is the magnitude of the task. There are 160,000 refugees in camps in extremely hostile territory that is clearly affected by the weather conditions. Committee members will follow up in our own ways with the Tánaiste and our colleagues in the European Parliament. To what extent has the mediator had a positive influence to date? Is it possible to use more persuasive diplomatic methods to convince the warring factions, with Northern Sudan being a serious perpetrator, of the error of their ways? Appealing to their better nature does not appear to work. I am not happy about going down the road of sanctions but someone must be supplying them with materials to carry out warfare. It may be helpful to know who is supplying material, for how long and who is providing funding. Across Europe, funds are hard to come by, particularly for one country and in light of the amount of funding required for an operation of this nature. Can the witnesses give us any useful information in our attempts to pursue the matter with the Tánaiste and the relevant international authorities with a view to alleviating some of the negative impact? This is separate to the point about humanitarian aid in what is an extremely dangerous place. It does not go unnoticed by the perpetrators, who are fully aware that, by ratcheting up the danger, they will squeeze people out of the area. It is to their advantage if they want to carry on what they are doing.