Gifting of Equipment (Lebanese Armed Forces)
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
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The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)
Contagion from the worsening crisis in Syria is having a direct effect on its neighbours, particularly in areas adjacent to Lebanon’s north and north-east border. There are daily incidents of violence between non-state armed actors and the Syrian armed forces, and by non-state actors supporting both the Syrian regime (Hezbollah), and the opposition (Free Syrian Army), culminating in near border and cross-border direct and indirect fire.
The UK is committed to Lebanon’s stability and supporting the Lebanese armed forces (LAF) to minimise contagion from the Syrian conflict.
As part of this approach, the UK is assisting the land border regiments of the Lebanese armed forces to develop effective and sustainable land border management capabilities which operate in line with agreed international human rights standards.
On 27 June 2013 I laid a departmental minute before the House setting out our intention to gift a package of UK assistance worth £10 million to increase the capacity of the two LAF land border regiments to fulfil their border management role, in support of broader LAF aims to disrupt and hinder the movement and operations of armed actors party to the conflict in Syria, and interdict elements who are seeking to destabilise Lebanon, and who may subsequently pose a threat to UK interests.
During the course of project implementation, the need for additional items and manpower has been identified. These needs are critical to maximising the impact of the project and ensuring long-term sustainability of the capabilities being provided. The identification of these additional critical requirements was only possible once the project team had deployed, trust established, and the full extent of the LAF’s needs exposed to the subject matter experts.
The departmental minute laid today sets out in detail our proposal to gift an additional £1.984 million of protection, mobility, observation and communications equipment to the land border regiments of the Lebanese armed forces. The cost of the proposed gift will be met by the Government’s conflict pool programme.
The table below illustrates the contents of the gift.
Capability | Source | Quantity | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Personal protective equipment, including gloves, camouflage clothing and protective glasses. | UK purchase | £254,495 |
2 | Two Land Rovers and additional equipment for the Land Rovers already provided to enable them to operate in difficult terrain. | UK purchase | £478,349.52 |
3 | Additional training tower and some technical equipment to facilitate training. | UK purchase | £377,000 |
4 | Radio equipment to allow the land border regiments to link back to LAF HQ in Beirut. | UK purchase | £874,451.20 |
Total | £1,984,295.72 |
Alongside the gift, the UK is expanding its existing package of training and mentoring with additional expertise worth £251,999. The equipment and training aims to enhance the capacity of the land border regiments of the Lebanese armed forces to observe, identify, deter and stop the illegal movement of weapons and personnel across the north and north-east land border with Syria.
The proposed gift has been assessed against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. The proposed gift has been scrutinised and approved by a senior, cross-Whitehall conflict pool approval board, which has confirmed that it fits with the Government’s strategic and delivery objectives. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also assessed the project for human rights risks, using the overseas security and justice assistance guidelines established by the Foreign Secretary in 2011. They concluded that the risk of human rights violations arising from the project’s delivery could be successfully mitigated.
The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If, during the period of 14 parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which the minute was laid before the House of Commons, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a parliamentary question or a motion relating to the minute, or by otherwise raising the matter in the House, final approval of the gift will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.