Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will advise on the political situation in western Sudan; if his attention has been drawn to the considerable concern at human rights abuses in the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16128/04]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Over the course of the Irish Presidency, the EU has been to the forefront of the international community in trying to address the appalling humanitarian and human rights situation in Darfur. At its meetings in April and May, the General Affairs and External Relations Council declared its serious concern at the humanitarian and human rights violations in Darfur and called on the Government of Sudan to provide unhindered and safe humanitarian access to the region. The actions of the Janjaweed in Darfur are to be utterly condemned and the Government of Sudan must take action now to adequately protect civilians against these violent militias. This is a message that the EU has consistently conveyed to the Government of Sudan.

In response to such pressure, the Government of Sudan has established a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations in Darfur. We expect the commission to confirm the human rights violations reported by the acting UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and we will seek a swift response by the Government of Sudan to its findings.

Action by the EU was instrumental in bringing together the Government of Sudan and the two Darfur rebel groups for peace talks in Chad, which resulted on 8 April in a humanitarian ceasefire. The ceasefire has contributed to a relative improvement in general security, which has allowed greater access to internally displaced persons for humanitarian organisations. For the past year, the EU has continually applied pressure to the Government of Sudan to provide greater access to Darfur for humanitarian organisations and I welcome the announcement last week by that Government that special permits will no longer be required for agencies wishing to travel to Darfur. It is imperative that this decision by the Government of Sudan is implemented on the ground. We will also press for the immediate lifting of other restrictions which impede humanitarian access.

The Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, will co-chair the upcoming donors' co-ordination meeting on Darfur, to be held in Geneva on 3 June. The occasion will be used to send a further strong political message to the Government of Sudan that its inadequate response to the situation in Darfur cannot continue. EC humanitarian assistance to Darfur is likely to be in excess of €10 million for 2004, with a further €4 million for Sudanese refugees in Chad. My Department is in the process of releasing €1 million in emergency funding for Darfur, of which €750,000 will be channelled through the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The EU and the UN will continue to work closely together on the situation in Darfur. As the current President, we have asked EU member states who are also members of the UN Security Council to continue to push for a greater level of engagement by the Security Council on the issue of Darfur. In this regard, I welcome the presidential statement issued by the Security Council on 25 May in which the Council expressed its deep concern at the continuing reports of large-scale violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur and its clear call upon the Sudanese Government to respect its commitments as regards both neutralising and disarming the Janjaweed militias.

The EU is also working closely with the African Union to establish an African Union ceasefire monitoring mechanism for the Darfur region. The African Union is ready to meet with the parties to the conflict in order to establish a ceasefire commission and we have sent a strong message to the Government in Sudan and the Darfur rebels that such a commission must be established as a matter of urgency. When established, the monitoring mechanism should help strengthen the ceasefire currently in place and contribute to overall security for local populations. The African Union has sought assistance from the EU African peace facility to meet the costs of the monitoring mechanism and, as the current President, we will encourage prompt and favourable consideration of this application.

I welcome the agreement reached between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Naivasha, Kenya, last week which should signal the end to the civil war between north and south Sudan, the longest running conflict in Africa's history. It is imperative that the Government of Sudan now turns its attention to resolving the conflict in Darfur if peace is to be enjoyed by all the peoples of Sudan.