The Minister for Armed Forces (James Heappey)
I am today giving an update to the House describing the gifting of infrastructure to the United Nations multilateral integrated stabilisation mission—MINUSMA—in Gao, Mali. This infrastructure carried a net book value of £3,522,479 as at 7 September 2023.
MINUSMA is a UN-led non-combat mission to support the political processes in Mali. The UK contributed to MINUSMA from December 2020 to February 2023 with the long-range reconnaissance group Mali, under the name Op Newcombe.
On 16 June 2023, the transitional Government of Mali asked MINUSMA to leave Mali “without delay”, which was formalised in a United Nations Security Council resolution dated 30 June 2023 that directed MINUSMA to leave Mali no later than 31 December 2023.
On 17 July 2023, the Defence Secretary laid a written ministerial statement and departmental minute in Parliament to explain that the UK intended to gift the UK camp infrastructure to the UN as part of the withdrawal from Mali, for $1. The UN subsequently wrote requesting authority to dispose of the camp with no requirement to gift.
The process for transferring legal ownership of the camp to the UN has now been completed. The UK has transferred ownership of the camp infrastructure to the UN and no longer has any financial obligation for disposal or remediation of the site.
[HCWS196]