Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Banks for his question, because Southern Sudan will be born into the international community of nations as a new nation state early next month on 9 July. This follows a protracted period of more than half a century of civil war in the Sudan between what is essentially a Muslim north and a Christian south—an Arab north and an African south. This has been the dividing line of tensions within that country for decades. As a consequence, a peace process was initiated over the course of the last decade which finally resulted in a resolution on which the community of the southern Sudanese, from memory some 10 million voters, voted both within Sudan and included the Sudanese community around the world. By the way, in the great tradition of Australian democracy, the Sudanese community here were the single largest voting bloc of Sudanese citizens outside of Sudan. The bloc here voted like they did in Sudan: 99.9 per cent for an independent state of southern Sudan, and we are still tracking down the others. As a consequence, this new nation state is coming into being.

On the practical ways of assistance we have done the following: $136 million in humanitarian development assistance since 2004 to Sudan as a whole with $71 million for Darfur, $50 million for the southern Sudan and $13 million for neighbours who have had to absorb refugees from Sudan. We have also contributed to UN peacekeeping operations with 17 ADF and 10 AFP deployed with the UN mission in Sudan, UNMIS. Eight ADF were committed but not deployed to the African Union-UN hybrid operation in Darfur because we have never been able to resolve visa issues with the regime in Khartoum. Furthermore we will continue our bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts. In addition, in 2010-11 Australia contributed $23 million to southern Sudan: $4 million for the conduct of the referendum; $3 million to the UNDP; $1 million to the International Organization for Migration; and also some assistance for Sudanese voting within Australia. On the humanitarian front, we have invested $19 million: $5 million to UNICEF; $4 million to the UN Common Humanitarian Fund; and $10 million for international and Australian NGOs.

We in Australia wish this new and emerging state of Southern Sudan all the best for its future. As with all new and emerging fragile states, we wish to be its partners for long-term development and for long-term peace and we will continue to stand by them. In conclusion, it should be borne in mind that a number of the southern Sudanese who have been taken in as asylum seekers in this country, have been granted permanent residency status and have been educated in Australian institutions will now be returning to Sudan to form parts of the administration of this newly emerging democracy.

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