Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 229: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the degree to which international aid and support is achieving its objectives in Chad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20024/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The humanitarian situation in eastern Chad, where 350,000 people are dependent on the assistance of aid agencies, is a source of ongoing concern. Approximately 200,000 refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan, which borders Chad, are living in eastern Chad since 2003. Host communities in this region are themselves highly vulnerable to humanitarian crisis. The refugee population is also vulnerable to skirmishes which are ongoing on the Chad-Sudan boarder.

Insecurity is a major problem along the 1,000 kilometre desert border between Chad and Sudan, which have very strained relations due to the destabilising effects of the Darfur conflict. Jan Egeland, the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, has warned that unless the security situation improves drastically, aid agencies will be forced to withdraw.

To date in 2006, Ireland has provided funding of €750,000 towards the UN Consolidated Appeal for Chad. This has included €500,000 to UNHCR, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, for assistance to Sudanese refugees in Chad and a further €250,000 to UNOCHA, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, for its activities in Chad designed to assist with early warning, planning and preparation for emergency relief. This support recognises the regional vulnerabilities which have arisen due to the spill-over of the crisis in Darfur into neighbouring countries. We hope that in time and with widespread local support and effective implementation, the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement will bring with it peace and security to the region. I can assure the Deputy that, in the interim, I continue to closely monitor the humanitarian situation in Chad and surrounding countries.