Written question asked by Baroness Featherstone (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 28 January 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 30 January 2008. It was answered by Jim Murphy (Labour) on Friday, 1 February 2008 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what training the civilian police in UNAMID have received in dealing with gender issues such as rape; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The 1,400 civilian police currently in Darfur as part of the African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) were transferred from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). They received training from EU police advisers working with AMIS, which included training on community policing and gender-based violence.The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations is currently preparing pre-deployment training for extra officers to bring UN AMID's police component up to 6,500 officers. Their training will be discussed at a meeting in Accra in February, at which the UK will press for gender issues to be covered.

Secondary information