Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Defence

I will not give way, as I must make some progress. On Sudan—next door to the DRC—we will never forget the continued suffering in Darfur, and we will press Khartoum to act on the bold proposals of the former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, to promote peace, justice and reconciliation. The year 2010 will also be critical for the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement. After two decades of war, the elections scheduled for next April and then the referendum on self-determination for the south in 2011, will pose major challenges. In addition to those conflict zones, the political and humanitarian situation in a number of countries is of major concern to Members across the House. The progress made in Zimbabwe over the past year is fragile; there have recently been reports of increased violence and intimidation against Movement for Democratic Change members and civil society activists. We want the inclusive Government to succeed and support the political and economic reform programme that ZANU-PF and the MDC signed up to last September. Additional support from us and from other international donors will depend on the progress made by the parties under this agreement. The year 2010 will also bring elections to both Burma and Sri Lanka. Unless Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners are released and can participate, and there is genuine dialogue with ethnic leaders and the political opposition, Burmese elections will not have credibility. On Sri Lanka, we welcome this weekend's announcement that from 1 December internally displaced persons will be allowed out of the camps. We hope that that will lead to the unrestricted freedom of movement for all IDPs. After 26 years of conflict, we want to see lasting peace, which will require an inclusive political process and genuine efforts towards reconciliation. Finally, on the challenges of conflict, and its dangers, I need to talk about Iran. The brutal crackdown against peaceful protestors after the June elections was shocking. The increase in the number of countries supporting a strong resolution on Iran's human rights at the United Nations last week illustrates international concern. The discovery of the covert nuclear facility at Qom and its inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency raised further questions about Iran's intentions and, indeed, about whether there are any other nuclear facilities in Iran that have not been declared. Iran seems determined to reject the Tehran nuclear research reactor proposal for the manufacture of its low-enriched uranium—LEU—outside Iran. That proposal provides a clear and obvious way for Iran to show that it means what it says about a peaceful nuclear programme—its rejection would be telling and ominous, as is the continued refusal to set further dates for meetings with the E3 plus 3. As agreed in September in New York, we will assess next steps on the dual track in the light of these developments.