Questions in the House of Lords by Lord Alton on Eritrea; the Trial of Omar Al Bashir in Sudan; on Crimes of Genocide; protests in Nertiti in Central Darfur

Jul 24, 2020 | Parliament

 

Questions in the House of Lords by Lord Alton on Eritrea; the Trial of Omar Al Bashir in Sudan; on Crimes of Genocide; protests in Nertiti in Central Darfur –

==================

Baroness Sugg, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL6752):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Eritrea about Dawit Isaak, jailed in Eritrea without trial since 2001; and what information they have sought about his well-being. (HL6752)

Tabled on: 13 July 2020

Answer:
Baroness Sugg:

We are aware of the case of dual Eritrean and Swedish national, Dawit Isaak. The UK Government is fully committed to promote media freedom and protect journalists wherever possible. We believe that media freedom is vital to functioning democracies and that journalists must be able to investigate and report without undue interference. The Head of East Africa Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised media freedom during his visit to Eritrea in November 2019.

Date and time of answer: 23 Jul 2020 at 13:24.

====================

Baroness Sugg, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL6751):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the progress made by the International Criminal Court in bringing to trial Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide; and what assistance they have provided to the government of Sudan in facilitating that trial. (HL6751)

Tabled on: 13 July 2020

Answer:
Baroness Sugg:

The UK welcomes the news that Sudan intends that Omar al-Bashir, and four others indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), will stand trial for crimes committed in Darfur. Such accountability is a significant step in Sudan’s progress towards the goals of the revolution and a peace settlement in Darfur. The Sudanese authorities have not yet set out how they will cooperate with the ICC, but have stated their intention for those indicted by the ICC to be tried for the crimes for which they have been charged. The UK strongly supports the ICC, and the role it plays in holding perpetrators to account and achieving justice for victims. At a UN Security Council briefing by the ICC’s lead prosecutor on 11 June, the UK called for the Government of Sudan to productively engage with the ICC on these issues and, as a first step, allow a visit by the prosecutor to Sudan as soon as possible.

Date and time of answer: 23 Jul 2020 at 13:21.

=============

Baroness Sugg, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL6750):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the mass protests in Nertiti in Central Darfur, Sudan, and (2) the calls of protestors to the government of Sudan to put in place protective measures against attacks by raiding militia. (HL6750)

Tabled on: 13 July 2020

Answer:
Baroness Sugg:

We are closely monitoring events in Central Darfur. The UK supports Prime Minister Hamdok’s commitment to secure a sustainable peace agreement that in the long term will help end conflict. We welcome progress to date in the Juba-based talks between the Government of Sudan and armed opposition groups, which once finalised should begin to address conflict and violence in Darfur, as well as demands made by protesters such as the appointment of civilian state governors. We do however remain concerned by incidents of violence in Darfur and continue to urge the Government of Sudan to provide protection of civilians, working with the UN/AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to do so. We continue to put the protection of civilians at the heart of our work on the future UN presence in Sudan, including during UN Security Council negotiations in May to establish the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission that will support Sudan’s transition, and the renewal of UNAMID’s current mandate.

Date and time of answer: 23 Jul 2020 at 13:23.

==========

 

Lord David Alton

For 18 years David Alton was a Member of the House of Commons and today he is an Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the UK House of Lords.

Social Media

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Site Search

Recent Posts

Share This