Mr. Jim Clerkin:

Good afternoon Chairman and members. On behalf of Oxfam, the other organisations represented here and the people in South Sudan affected by the conflict and the looming food crisis, I thank the committee for taking the time to raise this as an important issue in the busy schedule of items it is called on to discuss.

The history of South Sudan, as a nation, is short but its rich history with all its diversity is one which has endured far too much time in the ravages of war, hunger and misery. Today, it is at a bit of tipping point. I refer to the realisation of hope and opportunity which comes about through independence and this widening division within the country and the impact it is having in terms of a humanitarian crisis. I lived and worked in South Sudan and witnessed at first hand the excitement, optimism and the extraordinary energy around independence. I witnessed the first group of refugees returning after the civil war which lasted 20 years. Some of the people had not even been born in South Sudan but their sense of optimism about building this new country was palpable. We need to focus on how we get it back on that track because clearly what has happened recently has knocked it off that.

It is the newest country in the world, celebrating its third birthday on 9 July but it is also one of the poorest. In the normal run of things, food crises can be cyclical and can recur time and again. However, what we are seeing now has been exacerbated because of the fall out from hostilities and is putting the fledgling country on the brink of catastrophe. Approximately 10,000 people have been killed directly in the conflict, with more than 1.3 million displaced. Over 300,000 refugees have fled to surrounding states and 4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid - food, shelter, water, sanitation and medical assistance. They are also, critically, in need of protection so that they can live a life free from actual or threat of harm. It is important to state that the issues facing South Sudan are not specific to that country but have huge regional ramifications and we need to see a regional response. We attempted to raise this issue before with the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and others in early January. Since then, the situation has continued to get worse.

In the summer of 2011 we all saw the devastating impact of the famine that ripped through the Horn of Africa. Following this catastrophic event, Oxfam and others carried out a study and produced a report called The Deadly Delay, which was extremely critical of the international community - including ourselves - in terms of the lateness of the response. As a direct result of that and of the world being far more proactive in 2012, it is fair to say that we avoided a repeat in the Sahel region of western and central Africa. It is not impossible to stop these things from happening. We need to ensure that the word famine is consigned to history. It is within our ability and it is our duty to prevent this level of human suffering. The Deadly Delay report deals with the issue of changing the trajectory of human suffering but also argues that clever investment to prevent these events from happening is actually cost-effective. It means that countries are in a much better situation following a crisis which does not become a catastrophe. We believe this crisis can be prevented from escalating into absolute catastrophe if there is sufficient will and action now.

Opportunities are opening up now, not least the commencement of the rainy season which is critical to agricultural production and the additional €600 million pledged by donors in Oslo recently. Further to the comments of the Chairman, I welcome the support of the Irish Government, through Irish Aid, for humanitarian actors such as Oxfam, GOAL and Concern and acknowledge the additional funding pledged in Oslo. There has also been a revision of the UN mission in South Sudan, with increased emphasis on the protection of civilians. Last night it was announced that Salva Kiir and Riek Machar signed an agreement in Addis Ababa that commits to forming a transitional government within 60 days. Signing an agreement is one thing but delivering on it is another matter. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, the regional body overseeing this process, needs to ensure that they live up to their commitments. These are all opportunities but they will amount to nothing if they are not matched by actions which lead to real change on the ground for those affected by the conflict including: the translation of the current cessation of hostilities into a permanent ceasefire; a process of reconciliation and inclusive political dialogue which goes beyond just the warring factions to include all of the people of South Sudan, which is cognisant of the rights of the whole population; respect for the protection of humanitarian personnel and assets and unhindered humanitarian access to those affected; and sustained diplomatic efforts in support of peace talks. Members have been furnished with a copy of letter which Oxfam encouraged a number of eminent African leaders to sign, including the former presidents of a number of the countries in the region as well as our old friend, Archbishop Tutu, encouraging those involved to live up to their commitments.

We need to see a collective condemnation of violence by the international community and that needs to be sustained every time we hear of violent acts. Efforts are also needed to tackle the underlying drivers of violence, including the proliferation of arms. We need a timely and sustained release of humanitarian funding. Such funding must be dispersed across all sectors and increased for protection activities, the sector which currently receives the lowest level of funding from the international community. It is fine to have commitments but we need to see them delivered upon urgently and in a sustained fashion. We also need to see rapid mobilisation of the resources for UNMISS, including finances, equipment and personnel. There have been some welcome commitments made in the context of UNMISS concerning the change of mandate, the scaling up of personnel and so forth but we need to see them actually being delivered. Personnel must be fully trained and sensitive to the effects of the conflict on the civilian population, particularly the women.

The people who are displaced will simply not return home if it is not safe to do so. We need to put pressure on to create the environment to enable them to return and to enable the existing population to resume their normal lives. A massive surge in the humanitarian response by agencies on the ground is needed now before seasonal rains make many areas of the country inaccessible. There is no room for delay on this. A window of opportunity exists but we need to generate momentum. The issue of South Sudan keeps falling off the radar but has the potential to be the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world in a very short period of time unless we act now. We have learned a lot of lessons from the past and can use those lessons but we need a concerted effort. I urge this committee to ensure that Ireland uses its influence in the most positive way possible. It must work with the international community to make sure that those who are party to this live up to their commitments in order to prevent this crisis from turning into a catastrophe.