PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
EAST SUDAN (26 January 2006)

That this House expresses grave concern that the low-intensity conflict between the government of Sudan and the rebel movement, the Eastern Front, has largely been ignored by the international media, that diplomatic attention has been fitful given its effective ranking behind the South and Darfur as a priority for action and that the East has suffered greatly from marginalisation and underdevelopment, with very limited international humanitarian and development funding mostly confined to small-scale, short-term emergencies; recognises that, in a recent report by the International Crisis Group, Eastern Sudan is described as being `on the threshold of new conflict with no forum in which to negotiate' and that an additional report recently commissioned by the International Rescue Committee, with support from CARE, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Save the Children UK and TEARFUND shows that human indicators in Eastern Sudan are amongst the worst in the country; and calls on the international community to establish a mechanism for strategic co-ordinated action to focus on responses to key livelihood and advocacy issues for the region, to prioritise the identification and support of a suitable venue and mediation institution to initiate talks between the concerned parties and to strengthen its commitment towards rehabilitation and development assistance to increase confidence in the peace process.

Sponsored by:
Dr David Drew (Labour)