Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training the UK is providing to the UN Mission troops in the Central African Republic, on (a) reporting sexual violence, (b) protection of civilians from sexual violence and (b) other issues.

The UN Mission to the Central African Republic (CAR), MINUSCA, assumed responsibility for peacekeeping in CAR on 15 September. MINUSCA is funded from the UN’s Peacekeeping Budget, to which the UK is a significant contributor.

The mission’s mandate specifies that it should provide “support for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former armed elements, with specific attention to children, and the repatriation of foreign elements, as well as community violence-reduction programmes”. However, the Mission remains in its early stages and has faced operational challenges due to high levels of violence across the country. Once security improves, and staff numbers increase, the UN will, with the support of the international community, begin to take forward work aimed at disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of rebel fighters.

We remain in regular contact with the MINUSCA leadership. An experienced Foreign and Commonwealth diplomat, Diane Corner, started as the UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Representative to MINUSCA on 1 September.