Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and note the amazing work being done by their staff and those on the ground in South Sudan and in other areas.

As has been stated before, those who work for the organisations represented here are great ambassadors for Ireland. They put many of us elected representatives to shame in the context of their commitment and passion for change.

The situation that is the subject of discussion is another of those difficult ones in respect of which the committee is trying to obtain an understanding. Are our guests of the view that the peace talks will have an impact? Is there any guarantee that matters are going to settle down? The conflict appears to be bubbling over and people have referred to the dangers of ethnic violence erupting. What is the position with regard to internally displaced persons, IDPs? Are most of them being housed in camps mainly in the vicinity of Juba or are they spread throughout the country? Are many of those who fled the fighting staying with distant relatives? Our guests referred to the number of people who have fled to other countries, such as Ethiopia, and the impact this has had. The countries in question have their own difficulties and experienced famines in the past. On last night's edition of "Newsnight", reference was made to the emergence of rape and sexual violence in the conflict. It was stated that the use of rape and sexual violence had been a relatively unknown phenomenon during the war but that it is becoming increasingly common. What resources - for example, those relating to counselling, etc. - are our guests' organisations in a position to put in place in order to offer support to those affected?

The entire region is awash with weapons. Are there any programmes in place to try to buy back some of these weapons or to take them out of combatants hands in some other way? Such programmes have been successful in other regions. Is it just the case that there are too many weapons in South Sudan? All of our hopes are focused on the new agreement and I would welcome it if our guests were in a position to provide any further information in respect of it.

Reference was made to attacks on staff. It is probably not unusual that difficulties occur when people who are hungry are seeking food at aid stations. However, our guests have seen fit to mention this development so I am obliged to ask whether it is a new factor. What can be done in the context of providing security for staff at aid stations?

I wish our guests well. If the situation with regard to security is not resolved, then there is a possibility that a famine could develop. If people cannot grow their own food, then conditions are only going to get worse. Reference was made to areas where conflict has not broken out but into which the organisations represented here have been obliged to deploy resources. If additional resources can be sent to those areas, then perhaps the amount of food available in the region might increase. I am of the view that this is one of the goals we should be seeking to achieve in the long term.