Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)

Tá mé ag roinnt ama le mo chomhghleacaithe. I thank the Business Committee and the Minister for agreeing to these statements. Some other parties and I have been looking for it for some weeks. The Minister made reference to it not getting the attention it deserves. That is undoubtedly true. It is probably true in this country too. The situation the people of Sudan are facing does not bear thinking about. One of the journalists perhaps best known for reporting on the conflict in Sudan is an Irishman, Declan Walsh. I read a piece by him in late September or early October. It was before the fall of El Fasher. He interviewed a man, Dr. Selik. He spoke about the things he had seen. He spoke about seeing a pregnant woman bleeding to death for the want of simple medicine. For his lunch that day, the only food he could put his hands on was a lumpy brown mush. It was some type of animal fodder normally fed to camels and cows. Several days later he was killed in an attack on a mosque by a drone. We can multiple Dr. Selik by 100, 1,000 or 10,000 because that is the scale that we are talking about. The number of people who have been killed is unclear. It is difficult to establish exactly. Some estimates have put it up at 150,000 people in the past two years.

The scenes we saw from El Fasher were perhaps the moment that maybe the world began to pay attention but it is far from the first or the only place that this is kind of slaughter has taken place. The scenes are redolent of Rwanda. They remind one of that kind of genocidal behaviour. That is what is going on. People - men, women and children - were being cut down on the street by gun and blade for their ethnicity indiscriminately. That is the situation we are talking about. It has gotten worse; it is escalating. After Rwanda and much the same as after the Second World War, people said that this must never be allowed to happen again. The international community must never turn its eyes away again. Yet, this is what has been happening. To some extent, unfortunately, it is being encouraged by external forces. We have talked about some of them, such as the United Arab Emirates. These are powerful countries with connections to the West. There are others encouraging it as well but it is important that we use our influence with those whom we have influence. Ireland is not a major country but we must use whatever leverage we have. Unfortunately, Europe, the United States and the western world as a whole have not prioritised this appalling stuff. This is the biggest conflict on the face of the planet at the minute.

A total of 12 million people are refugees who have been dislocated from their homes, many of them in neighbouring countries, in other parts of Sudan, such as South Sudan, in Egypt and so on. That is twice the population of this whole island who are after being dislocated and removed from their homes by this conflict. They are very often under the threat of death and fleeing for their lives. There are tens of thousands of people who are believed to have left El Fasher. It is not known where they are. They have not reached a safe place. We do not know the full picture of what has happened to all those people. I cannot imagine what it must be like for the Sudanese community here in Ireland, across the world and in other parts of Sudan trying to establish what has happened to their loved ones and wondering if they are safe. In many instances, it has been unmitigated indiscriminative killing.

It remains the world's worst humanitarian and displacement crisis because of the ongoing conflict. A total of 21 million people - 45% of the population - are currently facing acute food insecurity. Famine has been confirmed in areas of North Darfur, including in El Fasher, Kadugli and South Kordofan. The intensifying violence and associated issues of concern across Sudan means that the true scale of the food insecurity crisis and the potential famine is likely far worse than reported. Widespread human rights violations are contributing to the severity of the protection crisis in Sudan. Woman and children, in particular, are bearing the brunt of the conflict and have been significantly impacted by the use of conflict-related, sexual and gender-based violence. Women and children are being targeted in a way that is vicious and deeply traumatic. Some of the stories coming out of Darfur and El Fasher have been truly appalling and blood chilling.

In addition to the significant food insecurity and displacement, children are at heightened risk of recruitment, trafficking, child marriage and family separation. The OCHA estimates that 10 million children are out of school as of 31 October. I have been raising concerns for a number of weeks and months in the Dáil with the Tánaiste and former Minister for foreign affairs, Deputy Simon Harris, about the situation in El Fasher and the inability to get humanitarian aid into the city and our concerns for the civilian population. Unfortunately, the situation since I first began to raise it got far worse as El Fasher fell and the RSF carried out these appalling crimes against humanity. We can no longer avert our eyes from what is happening in Sudan. This is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. More than a year and a half of siege warfare made El Fasher one of the most horrific places to live in the world in a war that the UN has labelled as the worst humanitarian crisis.

Reports from the UN and humanitarian organisations indicate that the RSF is effectively instrumentalising and manipulating humanitarian aid in an attempt to maintain control. The flow of weapons into Sudan continues with the complicity of the UAE and possibly other countries, such as Russia and neighbouring countries. All of them must stop the flow of weapons that is escalating and adding fuel to the fire of this conflict. Whatever leverage Ireland has must be used. Ireland, the EU and the United States all have strong connections and ties to the UAE and every pressure must be put on that country to try to stop the flow of weapons that is adding fuel to the fire.

Realistically, it seems that we are a long way off peace talks, unfortunately. While I welcome any efforts that are taking place, it seems that both sides to the conflict have ambitions to control Sudan so realistic peace talks are a considerable distance away. Even if that is the case, we must do whatever we can to push for a ceasefire. If the international community stands up, as it ought to, then the greatest pressure can be brought to bear in that regard. The enormous flow of sophisticated weaponry to the conflict is very dangerous and a matter of huge concern. The takeover of El Fasher was marked by the use of very sophisticated military technology, clearly well funded, including unmanned aerial vehicles for both surveillance and strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure, jamming technology and more. The Irish Government must continue to call on all external actors directly or indirectly supplying arms and funds to the parties to cease their support immediately and to restrain from any actions that could fuel further violence.

There is deep concern at the lack of clarity on the huge numbers of people deemed to be missing. It is believed that the RSF is responsible for terrible atrocities and is currently working to hide and cover them up before international observers can get to El Fasher. Both the SAF and RSF must ensure access for humanitarian aid and international observers. The Government must work with its EU partners and the international community to bring decisive pressure to bear on the warring parties to engage in dialogue and to agree to a sustained cessation of hostilities. I echo the point made by the Minister that partition is something that we would not wish to see. We need to see a civilian-led political settlement that respects the territorial integrity of Sudan.

In the short to medium term the Irish Government must advocate for the depoliticisation of humanitarian assistance, the lifting of restrictions to allow humanitarian aid to reach those most in need, the safe passage of humanitarian workers and the protection of humanitarian space. The attacks on civilians that have been taking place are crimes against humanity and must be condemned profoundly. There is no place for the kinds of scenes that we have seen in El Fasher and Darfur. The influence of those powerful actors, including the UAE, who have been fuelling the conflict, needs to be called out. Pressure must be brought to bear and ultimately, we must support the people of Sudan, who desire peace, a ceasefire and a political settlement that ensures a civilian government. In the first instance, we must do all we can to force the conflict to a close. Ireland must use its voice, combined with the much larger voices of the EU and USA, to deliver a ceasefire and peace for the people of Sudan.

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