Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose is of the training provided by the UK armed forces to the security and armed forces personnel of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK Armed Forces do not currently provide any training to security and Armed Forces personnel of Burundi or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We provide some limited training to the Rwandan Armed Forces, largely at the Rwandan Peace Academy and Staff College and through occasional places at UK staff colleges. This training is in support of security sector reform and effective and compliant Rwandan contributions to peace support and disaster relief operations.

We also deliver training to the African Union’s Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), as part of our effort to build the EASF’s capacity to conduct peace support operations. This training includes elements such as protection of civilians and civil and military cooperation. Some Burundian and Rwandan Armed Forces personnel attached to the EASF may attend this training.