Michael Creed
Question:37 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, the Irish Government has taken at EU, UN and other fora to have the crisis in Sudan resolved. [16376/98]
Written Answers. - Sudanese Famine.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:47 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has satisfied himself that Operation Lifeline Sudan has the capacity to ensure the effective delivery of food aid in Sudan; if he has satisfied himself that there is no bureaucratic division of responsibility between aid and development by the EU which is hindering the production of food in Sudan; if he will press at European level for open access to Sudan for food aid, the establishment of distribution hubs in Uganda and the provision of aircraft capable of landing without airstrip lights; if he will raise with development Ministers in the EU and the UN the need for more effective analysis and early warning systems to help avoid crises reaching catastrophic proportions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16347/98]
Seymour Crawford
Question:64 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent visit of the Minister of State to Sudan. [16482/98]
Brendan Smith
Question:73 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the proposals, if any, he has to continue to voice his concerns, at EU level and in other international fora, in relation to the need for the international community to mount a vigorous campaign of assistance, particularly with food supplies, to Sudan and to provide adequate air access to that country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16504/98]
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:75 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, he has taken to address the problem of famine in Sudan; the attempts, if any, made to enlist EU and United States aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16427/98]
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:101 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures or initiatives, if any, that he can take to alleviate the famine in southern Sudan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16806/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 47, 64, 73, 75 and 101 together.
The Government is very concerned about the humanitarian situation in southern Sudan where the cumulative effects of war, insecurity and erratic rainfall have led to immense human suffering. The UN World Food Programme, WFP, now estimates that 1.2 million people in southern Sudan are in critical need of food assistance. In addition, some 1.4 million are considered to need food aid in the north. The worst affected areas include parts of northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and western Upper Nile. Large numbers of people are displaced and have little or no access to food.
Fifteen years of civil war resulting in continuous displacement of people and increasing law-lessness has exhausted the coping capacity of the civilian population in southern Sudan. The humanitarian crisis has been ongoing for a number of years but deteriorated significantly this year in part because of a very poor harvest last year and in part due to the intensification of hostilities in 1997 and in early 1998. Prospects for the coming harvest are not encouraging due to delayed and erratic rainfall. In addition, there are indications that the persistent conflict and looting has resulted in a much smaller area under cultivation. This, together with a shortage of seeds and tools, points to a much longer-term food crisis.
From 1994-97 the Government donated £2,246,000 to address the ongoing humanitarian emergency in Sudan and we have responded immediately to the present crisis by allocating over £884,000 for urgent humanitarian assistance in the past two months. Further assistance is under active consideration. At the same time, we acknowledge that humanitarian aid cannot be a substitute for political action and an end to the civil war offers the only long-term solution to the appalling conditions the civilian population is enduring.
The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and I have worked continuously to keep the situation in Sudan on the international humanitarian and political agendas. At Irelands request, Sudan was discussed at a number of EU ministerial level meetings including the last meeting of Development Co-operation Ministers, the Cardiff European Council and the most recent General Affairs Council which took place on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The Council noted the substantial assistance provided by the EU over recent years and the continuing and increasingly urgent need for humanitarian assistance. The European Community Humanitarian Office, ECHO, and the European Commissions Food Aid Directorate have made substantial contributions to the relief effort in the past and are considering further contributions.
The recent General Affairs Council also reaffirmed EU support for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, peace process. The Council welcomed the proposal that the IGAD Partners Forum send a mission at ministerial level to Khartoum and Nairobi to explore the possibility of enhanced and secure access for the delivery of badly needed humanitarian assistance. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, participated in the IGAD Partners Forum in The Hague on 17 and 18 June which made this proposal and is actively engaged in taking it forward.
Ireland has also been active on a bilateral basis and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, visited Khartoum on 7 June to convey the Governments concerns to the Sudanese authorities. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, had an intensive round of discussions with members of the Government of Sudan and with UN officials leading the relief effort and pressed for urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis through better access and increased resources and to make concrete progress on an early ceasefire and an agreed framework for negotiations.
The main response by the international community to the emergency is managed by Operation Lifeline Sudan, OLS. OLS is a UN-led consortium of international humanitarian agencies including the UN World Food Programme, UNICEF and 35 non-governmental organisations. A number of NGOs operate outside but in complement to the OLS arrangement. It was established in 1989 as a result of the impotence of the international community in the face of a similar war-related famine in Bahr el Ghazel in 1988 and through agreement with the Government of Sudan delivers humanitarian aid to those communities most affected by conflict and drought in rebel held and Government controlled territories in southern Sudan. OLS also provides humanitarian assistance to needy people in the north. Within Operation Lifeline Sudan, the World Food Programme takes the lead role in the delivery of food aid. Ireland and other donors are working with OLS to increase the effectiveness of the relief operation and to try to ensure that the targets are met regarding the delivery of food aid to the most needy.
In February this year OLS warned that "During the next twelve months, large parts of Sudan are expected to experience the worst humanitarian conditions since 1994 when similar conditions destroyed hundreds of Sudanese communities and put hundreds of thousands of Sudanese at risk." Despite this warning, the international response to the OLS appeal for funding was relatively poor, continuing a pattern established over recent years. At around the same time a major rebel offensive took place in the Bahr el Ghazel region resulting in further large scale displacement of people. The Sudanese Government banned humanitarian relief operations thus disrupting the delivery of essential humanitarian supplies. Following international protests, OLS has been allowed to increase the number of aircraft and flights and the rebel forces have been co-operative in ensuring access in the areas under their control. Current relief efforts are aimed at meeting the most immediate food needs and at supplying essential non-food items, where feasible.
With increasing access, WFP was in a position to review the scale of the humanitarian problem and revised upwards the number of people in critical need of food and the amount of food to be provided per person. There has been concern that OLS/WFP has not been moving fast enough and this has been acknowledged by WFP. However, the bulk of food supplies has to be transported by air because roads and bridges have been destroyed by warring parties, washed out by rains or are heavily landmined. In addition, road transport is particularly insecure due to attacks by bandits.
WFP has been working steadily to increase the size of the airlift and announced last week that the Government of Sudan has agreed to the doubling of the number of aircraft in use which will allow WFP to transport about 10,000 metric tons of food a month by air. This will bring the total number of aircraft to 12. Eight aircraft will operate out of Lokichoggio, the main OLS logistics base for delivery into the south located in north-west Kenya, and Nairobi and four aircraft from El Obeid and Khartoum in Sudan. Facilities at Lokichoggio will have to be upgraded and WFP is in consultation with donors about the provision of additional aircraft parking and night lighting.
Air transport is extremely expensive and, if the principle of safe humanitarian corridors is guaranteed by all parties concerned to allow unhindered access to those in need in the south, WFP have established that it would be feasible to deliver food by road from Lokichoggio and from Koboko in Uganda to a number of very vulnerable communities. There is already a small road transport operation based at Lokichoggio. This would entail not only the establishment of a fleet of trucks and all the necessary logistical back-up but also the repair of roads and bridges, the latter will cost $5.5 million approximately.
In recent weeks substantial additional resources have been allocated to WFP by a number of donors particularly the UK and the USA. A total of US$58.7 million has been confirmed leaving a shortfall of US$78.7 million needed to provide food aid to northern and southern Sudan in the period up to April 1999.
The Government will continue to monitor the situation very closely, particularly the delivery of food aid and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and I will remain actively engaged in seeking ways to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people in both the short and longer terms.