Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

My proposal for an Irish preparatory conference might be constructed on the basis of addressing regional issues. This affects not only Sudan, but also Chad, the Central African Republic and Uganda. The preparatory conference could focus on the regional issues and provide an opening for the heads of state meeting that is at the heart of the British proposal.

Mr. Abulgasem Ahmed Abulgasem has been arrested and moved to Sudan. He was a participant in the Abuja talks where he represented the Sudan Liberation Movement, hence the sensitivity of his position.

Those of us interested in such issues are tested by something which is not being driven forward at UN level, namely, the difference between humanitarian intervention and humanitarian protection. Does the Minister agree that using sovereignty as a shield while massive loss of life and dislocation is taking place is an abuse of the concept of sovereignty? It is irrelevant at this stage whether we describe this as genocide. The international community must have the right to intervene where a state is not protecting a significant part of its population. We must all come to terms with this.

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