Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)

The war in Sudan is the forgotten war. It is just like the conflict; it has slipped from public consciousness. I am really grateful we are doing these statements today as it is something we should be focusing on. The Minister of State has been giving his attention to this and I have spoken to him about it. I am very happy he has been addressing it in the way he can but this is one of the worst humanitarian disasters occurring at the moment, in line with the genocide in Palestine. A total of 13 million people have been displaced, 25 million people are facing hunger and famine and 4 million children are malnourished. I welcome that the Minister of State's Department is looking at this and I look forward to him addressing this afterwards but the genocide is visible from space. Satellite images show entire communities erased, villages burned, blackened earth where families once lived and developed and communities once stood. The ethnic cleansing of local populations is systematic, and we are seeing this across the globe.

We must confront the truth of what is fuelling this horror. External actors are driving this conflict. Such conflicts have been massively expanded through weapons, funding and logistics funnelled from outside states. These interventions are about influence and obtaining critical mineral resources, including gold. Where foreign governments arm militias, civilians always pay the price.

Ireland may be small but our voice, values and political strength are how we show our humanitarian leadership. I welcome that the Minister of State has been addressing this in his travels around the globe and I thank him for that. Sudan cannot be allowed to disappear from global attention. Again, I welcome the fact that we are having statements on Sudan in this House. If the world continues to look away, millions more will suffer. We must keep pushing for a humanitarian ceasefire to end all the suffering. Ireland must keep speaking out, it must keep pushing for Europe to act and it must keep standing with the people of Sudan who are fighting for survival, dignity and peace.

See this speech in context