Petro Georgiou (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Cook for moving this motion on Darfur and acknowledge the comments of the member for Gellibrand. She made some very important points which demonstrate that this is a bipartisan issue. From 2003 onwards, the conflict in Darfur has created an immense humanitarian challenge for the world. The military actions of the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militias have seen vast outrages committed against the civilians of Darfur. At least 300,000 have died, millions have been displaced and more than 600 villages have been destroyed.

The United Nations holds the government and the Janjaweed forces responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, forced displacement and rape. These waves of violence in Darfur require United Nations action to end the fighting and protect the vulnerable. Efforts thus far to end the violence have been unavailing. The force of fewer than 7,000 African Union peacekeepers currently deployed in Darfur lacks a mandate to prevent violence and finds it difficult to work in the volatile circumstances it faces. This was dramatically illustrated by the capture of 18 African Union personnel by rebels in October last year. The 2004 UN Geneva fundraising conference for the provision of aid raised $US126 million, well short of the stated target of $US236 million. Clearly, more needs to be done both through peacekeeping and through the level of aid.

There is an urgent need for the UN to commit peacekeeping troops to Darfur for the purpose of quelling violence and relieving human suffering. The UN Security Council has just this month unanimously called for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to take over progressively from the African Union peacekeepers. This is a welcome development, but obstacles do remain. It is estimated the UN peacekeepers could not be deployed before September, even if the Sudanese government agreed to cooperate, and UN member states have not yet committed the resources to the proposed force. Meanwhile, appalling crimes are still being committed against ordinary people in Darfur. If the UN is to be a relevant and effective body, member states have to commit the resources that are essential for the United Nations to implement the Security Council resolution.

The United Nations peacekeepers must be supported by United Nations efforts to ensure that maximum cooperation is given to peace negotiations by parties to the conflict. Previous attempts to engineer peace in the region have been unsuccessful. The Sudanese government explicitly excluded guerrillas from Darfur from negotiations that resulted in the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement. Consequently, while civil war in the south of Sudan ended, conflict in Darfur continued. More recently, the 5 May 2006 peace accord between the Sudanese government and the major rebel force has not brought the killing to an end. In any event, it was rejected by other rebel groups. The UN should move the parties away from temporary tactical ceasefires and towards a long-term peace agreement.

Despite repeated appeals to donors in May, the World Food Program reported that, to date, it has received only $317.8 million, or 42.6 per cent, of the $746 million required to provide food assistance to 6.1 million people in Sudan this year, causing it to reduce rations by half. The World Food Program has been alerting donors, from as early as November 2005, of the urgent need for food assistance to the affected population at the right time and for pre-positioning purposes before the rainy season.

The UN cannot substantially provide the requisite level of aid unless member states provide the resources. I note the member for Cook’s recitation of the aid given to Darfur and the Sudan by the Australian government. I commend the efforts of United Nations officials and non-government organisations in continuing to press national states, the media and the community at large to respond to the plight of the people in Darfur. I wish to make special mention of non-governmental agencies that have been involved in relieving the suffering in the Sudan for keeping the issue at the forefront of international knowledge. I commend the motion to the House. (Time expired)

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