Ms Caoimhe de Barra:

It has been well documented that there are significant forces involved. For example, the UAE is supporting the RSF with arms and other forms of support. Amnesty International and Freedom House have documented support and arms trades to both sides, including specific weaponry.

What it means is that for those countries and blocs that have significant relationships with the Gulf states - for example, the Gulf Cooperation Council is meeting with the EU leadership next week - certainly these issues need to be on the agenda. They need to be addressed openly because otherwise there is no chance that impunity will be addressed. This conflict cannot survive without the external involvement and that external involvement is all predicated around control of resources, flows of resources, access to ports on the Red Sea, access to gold and mining. There is competition between countries that are outside of the region and that are trying maintain or gain control of Sudan as a linchpin within the region. Highlighting these issues at EU level in the forthcoming meetings, several of which take place next week, namely, the Foreign Affairs Council, the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting with the EU and the European Council, and even highlighting that the EU or that Ireland believes that this is intolerable, is an important move.

With respect to crimes, the ICC, stemming from the previous Darfur conflict, has an ongoing mandate around crimes in Darfur. We also believe that the mandate that the ICC has should be extended to the entire country of Darfur so that crimes can be investigated. It is an extremely long process but it is very important to signal that there is justice and that there can be justice for the 25 million people in need of humanitarian aid but, particularly, if the committee does not mind me saying it, for the 6.7 million people who are at risk of gender-based violence whose bodies are being used as battlefields. There has to be justice. Ireland supporting the ICC and the expansion of the ICC mandate to the whole country would send a powerful signal.