Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. What we've advocated for in the past are targeted sanctions against those most responsible, not blanket sanctions that can affect civilians in the broader population, but targeted economic sanctions or targeted travel bans against those most responsible for atrocities in Darfur, for poor decision-making within the regime, or for other violations.

Foreign Affairs committee  I have a brief response to that final point. I agree with much of what you said. Certainly southern Sudan is a different case and should not be penalized for the actions of the National Congress Party in Khartoum. I glossed over it in a brief presentation, but we've discussed it in detail in our report.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think actually that's only part of the solution. There's also a need to work within the UN, to work in New York, to press DPKO and press the leadership of the mission to do a better job than it's done so far on staying engaged on the political issues. Just to repeat the point, we're not going to get to a solution.

Foreign Affairs committee  Just to clarify, the question was where is this strategy outlined more clearly, where was it developed, and how does it lead to dealing with humanitarian issues and issues fuelling conflict and poverty. Is that it?

Foreign Affairs committee  You hit the nail on the head. It's an excellent question. Part of the problem is that there hasn't been a leader within the international community in developing policy in Sudan. After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, many people assumed that the UN would take the lead.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think it's a moral call. I can answer from a position in principle, but I don't know the specifics of La Mancha and what it's doing or not doing. I think the damage that Talisman did in Sudan, not only to Canada's reputation but to the civil war itself, is that Talisman was the enabling factor in the development of Sudan's oil sector and was part of that initial consortium that saw the displacement of as many as 300,000 people in block 1 and block 2.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think there's an argument to be made there. We haven't engaged them sufficiently yet. The argument is, particularly for China, that they're active in Sudan's economy, but they're disengaged for the most part from the political activities of the international community and are essentially providing almost blanket support to the National Congress Party and the UN Security Council.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll be frank in my response.

Foreign Affairs committee  There are two points. The first is that I think Sudan is quite an extreme case. You have a government that is not moved by many of the mechanisms and levers available in the international system. They're not moved by naming and shaming. They're not moved by public outcry, and the threats, which the international community, including the Security Council, has made over the last four years related to its activities in Darfur, have largely gone unfulfilled.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. The ongoing crisis in Sudan represents one of the greatest challenges to the Horn of Africa region and the international community today. Despite significant high-level international attention and engagement over the past several years, we're still far from a sustainable peace in a country that still hosts multiple active or simmering conflict areas and plays a role in regional conflicts in Chad, the Central African Republic, and northern Uganda, among others.