I turn to the continuing conflict in Darfur, where the situation is so grave that senior UN officials have warned of an impending human catastrophe: Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs declared that the humanitarian Crisis in Darfur is probably the, "worst in the world today".
Notably, there is the Crisis in Darfur where, as the International Crisis Group pointed out a month ago, "an end to the war in the south could become the catalyst for a new and bloody chapter in Darfur unless negotiations are broadened to include western rebels".
We are the second biggest bilateral donor to the Darfur Crisis after the US.
To reply to one other point made by the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, we are making a positive response to the Darfur Crisis.
We have been seriously engaged in the Crisis in Darfur - which, I agree, is absolutely dire - from its start.
Therefore, although the Darfur Crisis was raised in your Lordships' House last Thursday, it merits further consideration and will, I hope, elicit a more substantive response from the Minister today.
I welcome this opportunity to raise the subject of the humanitarian Crisis in Darfur.
The Crisis in Darfur is harrowing.
Furthermore, recognising how important it is that the north/south peace process is kept on track, what can this Government do to put pressure on the Government of Sudan to relieve the Crisis in Darfur, rather than to make it worse?
The victims of the Crisis in Darfur have suffered grievously.
The Government also assured me in respect of new NGOs seeking to go to help to deal with the Crisis in Darfur that, whereas currently it can take six to nine months to register a new NGO in Sudan, upon receipt of an application, a response saying yea or nay will be given within 10 days.
One of the tragedies is that the real and substantial political achievement, which the whole House will recognise, of negotiating the framework agreement, bringing the hope of an end to the longest running civil war in Africa - that negotiation took great courage and commitment on both sides - has now been overshadowed by the Crisis in Darfur.
As he knows, the two largest bilateral donors in response to the Crisis in Darfur are first, the United States of America and secondly, the United Kingdom.
Are the Government of Sudan not responsible for much of the displacement and Crisis in Darfur, through the janjaweed militias, which are closely associated with the Government?
Another aspect of the Crisis in Darfur is that it is a process that unfolds rather than a particular event.
There is a major humanitarian Crisis in Darfur, which we have sought to avert.
My Lords, the UK Government are deeply concerned about the Crisis in Darfur.
The Crisis in Darfur is portrayed as genocide, ethnic cleansing and as Arabs versus Africans.
Clearly, there can be no comprehensive peace in Sudan without a resolution to the Crisis in Darfur, but with the peace talks at Naivasha at a critical stage, the international community must continue to push hard for progress on both issues in parallel - in particular on implementation, which someone asked me about a moment ago.
Finally, I should like to mention the Crisis in Darfur.
However, Mr. Annan's report also found that "after 18 months of conflict, and 30 days after the adoption of resolution 1556, the Government of Sudan has not been able to resolve the Crisis in Darfur, and has not met some of the core commitments it has made" - most critically, on the question of security.
asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have made to the Government of Sudan with regard to the humanitarian Crisis in Darfur.
What recent assessment he has made of steps taken by the Sudanese Government to resolve the Crisis in Darfur.
The noble Lord knows that the UN Secretary-General has established a commission to look at whether or not the Crisis in Darfur should be labelled a genocide.
rose to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to recent developments in Sudan, with particular reference to the Crisis in Darfur.
At international level, attention was diverted from Peace Talks in Naivasha to humanitarian Crisis in Darfur .
Her Majesty's Government remain gravely concerned by the continuing Crisis in Darfur.
Similarly, we heard nothing of the Crisis in Darfur.
The failure of the United Nations to take on the interconnected conflicts in central Africa, of which Rwanda and Burundi are the worst, is perhaps the greatest failure - much larger even than the Current Darfur Crisis.
May we please have an oral statement from the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary on the continuing Crisis in Darfur, western Sudan, given that the United Nations-backed international commission of inquiry found evidence of war crimes by Government forces in Darfur that might be no less serious or heinous than genocide?
While the Foreign Secretary is still in the Chamber and willing and able to give us his attention, do you agree that in light of the fact that the question on Sudan, which would have allowed contributions on the subject of Darfur, was not reached, it would be immensely helpful if the Foreign Secretary or the Prime Minister were minded to come to the House to make a statement about the continuing Crisis in Darfur, which has both a humanitarian and a human rights character?
The international community's response to the Crisis in Darfur has been slow and inadequate.
In Sudan there can be no lasting peace without an end to the Crisis in Darfur.
, Musa Hilal, leader of the Janjaweed, showed his contempt for the international community and the victims of the Darfur Crisis by stating in a speech that he would not be subject to any of the resolutions passed either by the UN Security Council or the UN Human Rights Commission.
Let us give just one example - the continuing Crisis in Darfur.
The Asian tsunami and the Crisis in Darfur have demonstrated that we could and should be doing better.
Of course, a peace support mission by itself will not solve the Crisis in Darfur.
Notwithstanding the welcome announcement of a full day's debate on Africa in two weeks' time, may I appeal to the Leader of the House to find time for an urgent statement or debate on the Crisis in Darfur?
It was the second biggest bilateral donor to the Darfur Crisis, contributing £62.
As the House knows, the truth is that the Crisis in Darfur will be brought to an end only when the people who are currently fighting each other are prepared to use the Abuja peace talks to reach a peace agreement.
This, and other peace dividends, have been put on hold because of the separate Crisis in Darfur.
As we all know, the ongoing Crisis in Darfur is getting worse with inadequate numbers of African Union forces for the huge task in hand.
May we please have an urgent debate in Government time on the continuing Crisis in Darfur?
Thursday 18 May - A debate on the Darfur Crisis.
We supported Security Council resolution 1591, which provides for travel bans and asset freezes on individuals involved in the Darfur Crisis who have committed violations of international law or other atrocities, or who have in other ways impeded the peace process.
The UK Government have also played an important role in the UN Security Council in pressing for action to be taken on the Crisis in Darfur.
I know that the hon. Gentleman has taken a close and passionate interest in the Crisis in Darfur, and I applaud him for that.
Two weeks ago I announced that the UK is to provide a further £9 million to the common humanitarian fund, which will help the UN to react more quickly and flexibly to the Crisis in Darfur and to meet humanitarian needs in other parts of Sudan.
We must be conscious of the context of the Darfur Crisis, and it would be helpful to understand how much Darfur is at risk from surrounding instability.
May we please have a statement or debate next week on the continuing Crisis in Darfur, western Sudan?
We are the second biggest bilateral humanitarian donor to the Darfur Crisis, and since April 2004 we have contributed over £190 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan.
My Government will continue its focus on Africa, including by seeking a resolution to the Crisis in Darfur.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the humanitarian Crisis in Darfur continues to be of great concern?
The nation state on its own has no answer for climate change, rogue states, terrorism, the collapse of the Doha talks or the Crisis in Darfur.
My Lords, my noble friend has again done us and Sudan a service in drawing the acute humanitarian Crisis in Darfur to our attention.
The Crisis in Darfur is not an isolated situation.
But I agree that, as the world reflects on the Crisis in Darfur, it throws into sharp relief the difficulty that we have in finding effective means, through the United Nations, of protecting people who are subject to those crimes.
Does the Secretary of State accept that despite his considerable efforts, there is huge concern and frustration as we reach the fourth anniversary of the Crisis in Darfur that, despite the merry-go-round of endless summits, negotiations, meetings and assurances, there is still no effective force on the ground?
Again, I say to the Secretary of State that we are waiting for further action to be taken by the international community on the desperate Crisis in Darfur, about which we read every day.
As the hon. Gentleman will know, we are the second largest donor in the Crisis in Darfur.
As the Foreign Secretary said, today's debate is a welcome opportunity to address the international response to the Crisis in Darfur - a conflict that has brought such disaster to the people of that region and which is now, tragically, in its fourth year.
We should bear it in mind that a long-term solution to the Crisis in Darfur will not be achieved without a comprehensive settlement of all Sudan's regional tensions.
We are at a decisive stage in the Darfur Crisis.
First, at the G8 summit we expect a ringing declaration of the importance of achieving progress towards a solution of the Crisis in Darfur.
As we have heard, the Crisis in Darfur is not a crisis in isolation.
We agreed a strong statement on the Crisis in Darfur.
My Government has maintained and strengthened its focus on Africa, and has secured increased international support for a resolution to the Crisis in Darfur.
He said that the duty to protect had worked in Timor Leste, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that it had to be made to work again if we are to avert a major Crisis in Darfur.
The Crisis in Darfur continues; the Government of Sudan continue to put obstacles in the way of the UN/AU mission.
This is indivisible from the solution to the Darfur Crisis.
As last July the Prime Minister rightly described the Darfur Crisis as one of the great humanitarian disasters of our generation, and as the joint African Union and United Nations force was supposed to be 19,000 strong on31 December - that is, last week - but is only 9,000 strong on the ground, and comprises mainly African Union troops, what are the Government doing to put the matter right?
May we have a debate on the continuing Crisis in Darfur?
I would like to ask the Prime Minister about something that he rightly gave a very high priority: the humanitarian Crisis in Darfur.
Yet as the Aegis Trust - which has been doing so much focused work on Sudan, and to which I am very grateful for its help in preparing for this debate - has stressed, western investors, including those in the United Kingdom, continue to invest in corporations working in Sudan which do not benefit ordinary Sudanese civilians, which demonstrate no corporate social responsibility regarding the Darfur Crisis, and which continue to provide the Sudanese Government with revenue that can then be used to carry out their policy of ethnic cleansing in Darfur.
Surely, as the Aegis Trust and others argue, if the Government are truly committed to the ending of the Crisis in Darfur, they should want to ensure that UK investment is not fuelling that crisis.
For too long, the Crisis in Darfur has been thought about and talked about in isolation.
Everyone understands that the Darfur Crisis requires a political solution, not a military one.
Will my hon. Friend urgently raise this fundamental failure to protect innocent victims of the Darfur Crisis with the Chadian ambassador and at United Nations level, because this shocking criminal violence must be stopped and the perpetrators indicted?
Does he agree that now is the time to give real priority to resolving the long-running and tragic Crisis in Darfur?
In Darfur, for instance, the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur has recently seemed to be saying, “Well, because there has been statistical easement in some features of the humanitarian Crisis in Darfur, we should treat that as though the crisis is ending,” but clearly it is not ending.
With regard to foreign aid, there is clearly a real humanitarian Crisis in Darfur, as we have heard, especially in the mountainous northern part of Sudan which borders Egypt.