H.E. Mr. Mohammed Elbashir:

I thank Senator O'Reilly for his question. The situation in Sudan is very complicated. Every day, we are losing people. We have lost people and so many things because of this war which has been imposed on the Sudanese people. No one chose this situation but it is imposed on us. The causes have been rooted for a long time and now we are facing a very critical situation. This war is even threatening Sudan's existence. The Government of Sudan is still working for peace and to stop this war. It made an agreement in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia last year. This is supposed to be fulfilled by the other party but it refuses to leave civilian buildings. It signed the agreement but has not taken any steps to fulfil its commitments. The war is now severe, especially in Gezira and in Al Fashir in Darfur. This is the responsibility of the Government of Sudan and other countries that neighbour Sudan. We thank all of our neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which have made a great effort. The international community has tried to find a solution but the Rapid Support Forces always refuse to stop. Although they allege they want to bring about democracy, democracy cannot be brought about by killing people or destroying the state infrastructure.

In places that are under the control of the Government of Sudan, life is normal life, although there are difficulties. The people living there are suffering a lot, even my family because I have family there. Everybody is suffering. On the other side, if there are Rapid Support Forces in an area, the people there suffer every day. News agencies, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations have been witness to what the Rapid Support Forces do in Sudan. We are sorry about what is happening but we ask the international community, especially Ireland, to support the efforts to stop this war. Sudan is a great country. It neighbours many countries and before the war, it hosted at least 3 million refugees from other countries that are also experiencing conflict. We have a programme with Europe to combat and find solutions for illegal immigration. This situation has become very severe. I ask members to raise their voices so as to stop what is happening now in Sudan because it is affecting not only Sudan but Africa and the whole world.