Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)

Tá áthas orm an deis seo a fháil labhairt ar an topaic seo agus ar an méid atá ag baint leis an gcogadh cathartha i Sudan.

What is happening in Sudan is hell on earth. Last year, Aid to the Church in Need released its report on Christian persecution around the globe. Sudan is an area plagued by this issue. I will quote extensively from that report as it specifically deals with some of the desperate problems ongoing for those living in Sudan, especially Christians:

The civil war that broke out on 15th April 2023 unleashed a wave of violence and displacement affecting all communities across Sudan. Several significant churches were among religious buildings targeted in the war's opening weeks. Many churches in the Khartoum area and elsewhere were immediately seized by military forces. By mid-May, this included the Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Cathedral and All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral ...

[..]

Many other churches in the capital were seized on the first day of the conflict. That same day, bombers attacked the Catholic Bishop's house ... The bishop took refuge in the neighbouring cathedral.

[...]

In the following months, up to 165 churches were closed and others destroyed.

By early 2024 human rights observers began describing Sudan's internal displacement crisis as "the highest in the world" - with the UN stating record levels of children were suffering malnutrition due to food scarcity. By that time, the Church, which had been 5 percent of the population (2.4 million) before the conflict, was "shrinking away." While many Christians migrated to their ancestral homelands in South Sudan, Church sources reported that the faithful made up the majority of the 750,000 or more people who took refuge in the Nuba Mountains.

In the two years leading up to the civil war, the regime that came to power in a coup in October 2021 began reversing a process towards "liberalisation and religious freedom" undertaken by the transitional government. The transitional government (2019-21) had restored Christmas Day as a public holiday, issued an apology for the country's long record of persecution against Christians and abolished the death penalty ...

It is clear from those quotes that the scale of the challenges facing Sudan and its traumatised people are almost too enormous to contemplate or imagine. I accept Ireland is doing incredible work among its overseas aid partners. I note a recent reply from the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, to a parliamentary question I tabled. The reply confirmed that since the outbreak of conflict in 2023 Ireland has consistently highlighted the scale of the humanitarian crisis, with a particular focus on the levels of acute hunger and famine, large-scale displacement and the impact of the conflict on women and girls. The reply further stated that the provision of humanitarian assistance was a major priority for Ireland and that, in 2025, the Government has confirmed €14.3 million for the Sudan crisis. Some €10.3 million is committed to support humanitarian work in Sudan and €4 million to support the humanitarian response for displaced populations in neighbouring countries.

I can only add my agreement and support to what the Minister has said regarding the conflict in Sudan being a human catastrophe which risks wider stability in the region, and that Ireland will continue to work to keep Sudan on the international agenda. That is certainly welcome. However, I specifically ask the Minister to ensure the Department will do all it can to protect Christians of Sudan, who are undergoing a living nightmare. Christians are the most persecuted believers in the world. In addition to the report published by Aid to the Church in Need, data from the Pew Research Center has shown that Christians suffered religiously motivated harassment, ranging from verbal abuse to killings, in more countries than ever before, 160 in total, which is a rise of 50 countries since 2012. Not only were Christians experiencing fundamental human rights violations in more countries than any other faith group, the gap between them and the next worst-affected religious group had significantly widened. That is deeply alarming. As I am sure the Minister will agree, perhaps we should have a debate on this specific issue in the near future.

See this speech in context