PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN SOMALIA (21 May 2007)

That this House deplores the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Somalia; notes that there were estimates of over 1,000 deaths and 4,000 wounded civilians in Mogadishu caused by heavy fighting from 29th March to 1st April 2007, which included indiscriminate shelling by Ethiopian forces on civilian areas; understands that this has prompted 1.4 million persons to flee their homes, representing over 50 per cent. of the population of the capital which, according to John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has now surpassed the displacement crisis in Sudan; further notes that the Kenyan border remains closed to refugees fleeing the fighting, and whilst recognising their own security concerns notes that this is in contravention of international humanitarian law; further notes that humanitarian aid is failing to reach almost two-thirds of those who have been affected and displaced by the heavy fighting in Mogadishu; and calls for African members of the African Union to reassert their commitment to troops in the region; and further calls for UN intervention and an immediate increase in unimpeded humanitarian aid assistance before the seasonal rains aggravate the crisis.

Sponsored by:
Ms Diane Abbott (Labour)