Written question asked by Keith Simpson (Conservative) on Wednesday, 17 December 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 January 2009. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Forces

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what military training the UK has given to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2005.

Answer: The UK has provided the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) with several training projects since 2005. These include: "a peacekeeping English language project, which has to date trained over 200 students;""training of 20 members of the FARDC as interpreters; and""leadership training for 30 FARDC junior officers by Sandhurst instructors."Training on Security Sector Reform has also been provided for the FARDC Chief of Staff and senior FARDC officers. In addition, the UK has run several individual courses for FARDC officers at African British Training Centres including:"(a) managing defence in the wider security environment;""(b) collective training;""(c) peace support operations;""(d) managing defence within a democracy."

Secondary information