Southern Kordofan

EDM number 1984 in 2010-12, proposed by Timothy Farron on 23/06/2011.
Categorised under the topics of Africa and International politics and government.

That this House notes that on 9 July 2011 the country of Sudan is due to split formallyin two following an overwhelming `Yes' vote in the South Sudan independence referendum, which took place between 9 January and 15 January 2011; further notes that a humanitarian emergency is unfolding in the northern Sudanese state of Southern Kordofan as tension between the ruling National Congress Party and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement has led to forces from the North and South launching attacks with artillery and military aircraft on villages and other civilian areas; condemns fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and elements of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) which broke out across the state on 5 June 2011 and has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and has caused many civilian deaths; expresses concern over reports of opposition members and local officials being singled out for attack and of reports from the UN Human Rights Watch that journalists are being refused access to the area, together with international relief agencies, resulting in a worrying lack of information about the conflict, and that several Al Jazeera journalists were severely beaten near Kadugli when attempting to make their way to report from South Kordofan; and calls on the Government to maintain its engagement in the negotiations in Addis Ababa to resolve the conflict between elements of the Sudanese armed forces and the SPLA and to urge the Sudanese government immediately to put a stop to attacks on populated civilian areas as South Sudan moves on towards independence.

This motion has been signed by a total of 20 MPs.