Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding our relations with the Government of Sudan; and his views on the decision of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to request an arrest warrant for President Omer Hassan al-Bashir. [33997/08]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation in Darfur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34069/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I proposed to take Questions Nos. 42 and 67.

I remain deeply concerned at the situation in Darfur, and the ongoing suffering of its people. The fracturing of the main rebel groups over the past year, and the apparent determination of the Government of Sudan to pursue a military solution, at a high price in terms of ongoing suffering for ordinary people, makes the search for peace even more difficult. I welcome the appointment of Djibril Bassolé as joint AU-UN chief mediator in June 2008, and am hopeful that his committed efforts to bring the two sides together will be successful. So far, however, the process has been disappointingly slow, and a lack of political will is apparent on all sides. Despite these discouraging developments, there is no alternative to a political solution.

In Darfur, ongoing conflict, including targeted attacks against aid workers and their assets, continues to constitute a major obstacle to humanitarian operations. Since 2006, the Government has committed over €48 million in assistance to the people of Sudan, including Darfur. Through EUFOR Tchad/RCA, which is under the command of an Irish officer, Lieutenant General Pat Nash, the EU is also helping provide security for those Darfuris who have fled across the border into neighbouring Chad.

Serious human rights abuses against civilians, particularly women and children, have been a constant feature of the Darfur conflict. On 14 July 2008, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested that a warrant be issued for the arrest of Sudanese President Al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. It is now up to the appropriate bodies of the ICC and, where appropriate, the UN to determine what action they intend to take in response to the Prosecutor's request.

Ireland fully supports the crucial role being played by the ICC in the promotion of international justice, and deeply regrets the lack of co-operation on the part of the Sudanese government with the ICC to date. While the situation in Darfur is very complex, and there is a need to foster any prospects for peace which exist, the reality should be that serious crimes such as those which have been committed in Darfur must not go unpunished.