asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What assessment they have made of the security and well-being of Darfurian refugees in Chad.

My Lords, a joint FCO and DfID team visited Chad from 19 to 24 February to assess the situation, and we remain very concerned over the security and humanitarian position of the refugees and internally displaced Chadians. The team met with the Chadian Foreign Minister, Ahmat Allami, and raised our concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the east, due to cross-border offensives from Darfur and rising levels of inter-communal violence. We will continue to work with the UN and other partners to secure the best option for a deployment to Chad.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. Will he confirm that it is now estimated that there are 380,000 refugees in the refugee camps on the border between Chad and Darfur? They are drawn from the Central African Republic as well as from Chad and Darfur. Ground-to-air missiles have been provided by the Sudanese Government to Chadian rebels, and there is the continued arming of the Janjaweed militia. How does he respond to a statement last week by the United Nations commissioner for refugees in Chad, who said that it is now,

“witnessing a level of violence completely unknown to Chad before”,

that Janjaweed attacks are “wreaking havoc on humanitarian operations”, that there is “rampant insecurity” and that this is another Rwanda in the making?

My Lords, there are some variations in the estimates but I will dispute neither the general figures nor that they include people moving from Darfur and the Central African Republic into Chad. The reality on the ground is that there are instances of inter-communal conflict among the people of Chad as well. The volume of arms in the area is growing exponentially, and it is precisely for that reason that the UN secretary-general is reporting to the Security Council today on options for a peacekeeping force to deal with what is becoming an extremely acute crisis.

My Lords, did the FCO mission ascertain whether the Governments of Chad and the CAR had agreed to the deployment of the multinational mission in their respective countries, as has now been recommended by the secretary-general? If it does go ahead, will the UK seek to ensure that, unlike in Darfur, its strength and terms of engagement are adequate to protect civilians at risk, including both internally displaced persons and refugees?

My Lords, there would be a significant difference between this deployment and that in Darfur. The deployment in Darfur has been undertaken by the African Union and had a relatively restricted mandate—even so, that mandate was arguably not fully used. In Chad, there would be a UN deployment. There have been mixed signals from the Governments of the region about whether they would welcome any kinds of deployment, but I believe that the secretary-general is quite right in saying that for this crisis to be resolved the deployment must be underpinned by adequate funding in order to ensure that there are enough people with enough logistical support and enough of the materials to secure peace over a long period.

My Lords, is the Minister aware that more than 33,000 displaced Darfuris in various camps in Chad are sending signed petitions to western Governments pleading for adequate protection to end the widespread destruction, rape, looting, murder and displacement? I am sure that the Minister is pleased that he was able to report that the UN is considering sending a force, but can he give a more specific reassurance to those desperate people in Chad that they will be receiving the adequate protection to which they are entitled, and which they so desperately need? Another genocide, as we know, is in the making.

My Lords, I am obviously not in a position to say what will happen later this afternoon when Ban Ki-Moon makes his report to the UN Security Council but I am in a position to say that the Government are using their best endeavours. Last Thursday, I was at the United Nations arguing about the urgency of the requirements of Darfur and Chad, and now also of the Central African Republic. I was seeking to ensure that UN Security Council decisions are acted upon, that nothing forms an impediment to them and that the UN does its part in this expeditiously. All of these things are required and we are working on this day by day.

My Lords, are the Government in Khartoum co-operating with all the procedures needed for the protection of their own people? If they are not, what is the international community doing to remind them of their basic duties?

My Lords, the obligations at the moment on the Government in Khartoum are to fully accept a light package of UN support, which is partially undertaken, to accept a heavy package of UN support by the end of next month—this process has not so far been pursued with vigour—and to accept a hybrid UN/AMIS force. Those discussions have barely started.

We have made it clear that we believe that the UN resolutions must be followed completely. I turn to the Government in Khartoum and the rebels, who are capable of very great violence and have exerted great violence; they must understand that they are also becoming liable to prosecution for war crimes at the International Criminal Court, as viewed as necessary in some cases named today.

My Lords, could I be clear that the force of 10,000 for Chad proposed by the UN is different from the original UN force proposed for Sudan, which was blocked by the Sudan Government, different from the light package of support from the UN, which is trying to do its best in Darfur, and different again from the African Union force that has been operating in Darfur? So it is proposed that a big UN force will go into Chad, with some reluctance from the Chadians, who think that it might drag them into the war as well. What precise resources or contribution will we make to a situation that is getting worse by the day?

My Lords, these are distinct operations and it would not be helpful to entangle the two at the moment. We have made it clear that we will offer advice on logistics and on command and control; that is the principal contribution which we believe will be most effective.