Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Afzal Khan

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

15. What steps his Department is taking to increase the UK’s contribution to UN peacekeeping missions.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

The MOD has more than doubled the number of British forces on UN peacekeeping missions in the past three years in accordance with the commitment made in the strategic defence and security review in 2015. This is through new deployments to the UN missions in South Sudan and Somalia, in addition to our long-standing commitment to the UN mission in Cyprus. That means that we have increased numbers from some 300 to over 670 today.

[Afzal Khan]

It is important that NATO works hand in hand with the UN and other bodies with regard to conflict prevention and peacekeeping. What steps are the Government taking to promote collaboration between NATO and the UN to make that as efficient as possible?

[Mark Lancaster]

I met the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, in London last month, and that is just the sort of discussion we have with him. There are a number of areas where we think that closer co-operation between the UN and NATO can be of benefit, and that is precisely why we are increasing our commitment to the UN in practical terms.