Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)

Today, like many of my colleagues, I would like to raise one of the most important ongoing humanitarian disasters, the unfolding civil war in Sudan and the sheer amount of civilian death and tragedy unfolding in its wake.

The war in Sudan is not a simple conflict. It is a catastrophe causing the slaughter of innocent women and children and the starvation of millions. It is a conflict that strikes at the very heart of human dignity and the rights we have fought for for so long and so hard are now under threat. The fear is that we will not be able to uphold them.

Sudan has been marred by decades of war. In recent weeks, the city of El Fasher has been subjected to a siege that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Reports from the city are showing evidence of mass killings, sexual violence and vital infrastructure and lifelines for civilians being destroyed. Harrowing and gruesome videos have been doing the rounds but the level of documentation of this ongoing tragedy does not end there. We have now seen satellite images in which the trail of blood from the ongoing slaughter in the city is clear to see. These are war crimes so terrible that they are visible from space. It is truly one of the world's most severe ongoing humanitarian catastrophes.

In the midst of these horrors, I ask that we not forget those who are most vulnerable. I ask that we not forget those women who are victims of this violence and subject to rape and sexual abuse. I ask that we not forget the children who are starving and on the sides of the streets, their bellies swollen from the denial of food and basic humanities. I ask that, as a humanitarian nation, we continue to persevere through the barriers to aid set by conflict and deliver food to those children and assist those vulnerable women.

A primary access point for our aid to Africa hinges on supports for maternal health. Ireland has championed and led the way on maternal health and sexual and reproductive health rights through our aid to Sudan and other countries such as Ethiopia, Liberia and Gambia. We fund Maternal and Childhealth Advocacy International and work with nurses and midwives to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths across ten countries. Recent aid to Mozambique, for example, has been used to treat conditions like pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that, if untreated, is deadly. An investment there for €4 million was used to train 450 maternal health workers and screened 115,000 pregnant women. One project under our aid for maternal health in Mozambique has saved the lives of 5,000 mothers in one year alone. These are lives saved because we chose to act.

Similar projects in Sudan go against the unfortunate tide of death ripping through that country and give the invaluable gift of life and youth to a nation when it needs it the most in such horrific and tragic times. Access to safe childbirth is one of the primary guarantors for a nation to survive and recover from a terrible tragedy. The ongoing conflict threatens to overturn the progress we have made so far. In Sudan, mothers and pregnant women are under siege. Their survival is threatened and their freedoms are restricted and denied. These freedoms should never be denied and we should always endeavour to ensure they have the aid so that, in the coming years, not only will this conflict end but Sudan can recover and actually hope to be able to rebuild.

As it stands, pregnant women cannot reach clinics. Sexual violence is rampant. Abuse of women is becoming just another everyday occurrence throughout the country. Therefore, I implore the Minister of State to continue to aid these women and to focus on these issues so lives may be saved and further tragedies prevented. Our Government continues - I am very grateful for this - to assist in countries in humanitarian need. Even in times of crisis, we do our best to find ways. Sudan should not be any exception. It desperately needs our help. It is, therefore, imperative that we continue to fund and get these supports through so that these projects can thrive and allow our humanitarian aid to preserve life in war zones and promote peace across the globe.

If our neutrality allows us to afford prosperity, it should also allow us to afford generosity. Humanitarian aid is not just a charity. It is a projection of our values an ideas as a people and a nation. Our opposition to violence and tragedy must be acted upon in ways that have a material effect. Very often, words are not enough. Token gestures do not save lives. Helping hands on the ground are what make the difference and our humanitarian aid is our vessel for supplying that. As Martin Luther King once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." If we are serious about our commitment to being a bastion of humanitarianism and an example to nations turning ever more inward, we must become an enemy of injustice through our kindness and help. We must become a friend to the suffering through our assistance. We must become a foundation for humanitarian values through our generosity and we must become a contributor to the future of fragile nations through our commitment to peace, equality and respect.

This is a call to conscience and a call to action. We cannot look away. We cannot let fatigue or infighting dull our sense of urgency and duty. If we fail, it is not just Sudan that loses. It is we and society in general that will lose.

See this speech in context