Welsh Liberal Democrat Women Join Westminster Colleagues to Condemn Sexual Violence in Darfur (Eleanor Burnham )

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Eleanor Burnham <info@eburnham.org.uk>

Welsh Liberal Democrat Women Join Westminster Colleagues to Condemn Sexual Violence in Darfur

December 13, 2006 1:03 PM

Eleanor Burnham AM, along with her fellow female AMs Jenny Randerson and Kirsty Williams, has joined their Westminster colleague Shadow International Development Secretary, Susan Kramer MP in condemning the sexual violence towards women taking place in Darfur.

Ms Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, has tabled a statement of opinion expressing the Welsh National Assembly's concern over the abhorrent use of rape as a weapon against women and girls in the Darfur region of Sudan. She is being supported by her fellow female Welsh Liberal Democrat AMs in the hope that other AMs will follow their example.

Ms Burnham said: "At the moment we are witnessing a series of disgusting human rights violations in Darfur. The systematic rape of women and young girls by the Janjaweed is only the tip of a horrendous mountain of crimes happening right now.

"We are seeing extra-judicial executions, unlawful killings of civilians, torture, rapes, abductions, destruction of villages and property, looting of cattle and property, the destruction of the means of livelihood of the population attacked and forced displacement all committed in a systematic manner by the Janjaweed and often in coordination with Sudanese military.

"Our colleagues in Westminster are calling for specialist gender units to investigate all cases of rape as the Peace Agreement demands, and for the Khartoum government to disband the Janjaweed militias immediately.

"We female Welsh Liberal Democrats in the Assembly fully support this UK government campaign to prevent another genocide. I hope that others here will follow are example and urge those in government in London to do everything they can to stop this human crisis now."

Notes

Eleanor Burnham has tabled the following Statement of Opinion with her female Welsh Liberal Democrat colleagues Jenny Randerson AM and Kirsty Williams AM:

The National Assembly for Wales abhors the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon, particularly being used against women and children in the Darfur region of Sudan, and recognises such action as constituting a war crime.

The National Assembly for Wales calls upon its members to condemn the Sudanese government for failing to protect its own most vulnerable people.

This Assembly calls upon the UK government to place the strongest effective pressure on the Sudanese government to implement the investigation of all cases of rape and sexual violence by specialist gender units as the Darfur Peace Agreement demands.

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