Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms McKenna for that update on the activities of MSF in Syria. I am sure we will be returning to that shortly as the humanitarian situation worsens.

I am sure members will agree with me that there is no reason we cannot go ahead and support the request from MSF and Trócaire. We will raise the matter with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure the situation in South Sudan is on the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 15 October 2012. My understanding from our adviser is that it is on the agenda. We will reinforce our concerns about Sudan following this meeting.

Our second request to the Tánaiste relates to his role as chairman of the OSCE. Senator Walsh agreed to raise that at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly of 56 countries. We will ensure the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade raises it at any meeting he attends. One of the largest gatherings of foreign affairs Ministers will take place here in December for the conclusion of our chairmanship of the OSCE. We will try to ensure that South Sudan is on the agenda for that meeting as well. If we have any informal meetings with Ministers, we will raise that issue with them as well.

In addition, we will contact our 16 MEPs in the European Parliament and request them to raise the issue. We have a close relationship with the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. The German MEP Mr. Elmar Brok is the chairman of that committee and we will write to him to ensure it will be put on the agenda. We will engage indirectly as parliamentarians with our counterparts in the US and in the G8, G20 and BRIC countries. Those of us who meet ambassadors from time to time will raise it with the ambassadors from those countries. As the representatives of MSF suggested, we will raise the plight of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions as a matter of priority with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I thank the delegation for coming before the committee and updating us on the deteriorating humanitarian situation. Obviously the weather is playing havoc with the situation and this is added to the difficult terrain. We can assure Trócaire and MSF that we will keep the humanitarian problem on the agenda and get updates from time to time. We will keep the organisation informed of what is happening. We will continue to ensure the situation in the region receives the attention I believe it deserves.