Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure British troops deployed on the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali tackle conflict-related sexual violence against women.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence work together to ensure that British troops deployed to the UN's peacekeeping operation in Mali, MINUSMA, receive comprehensive pre-deployment training, including on human rights, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). The UK's long range reconnaissance task group in Mali is a high capability commitment intended to enable MINUSMA to conduct more effective intelligence-led operations across the full range of its mandated tasks, including protection of civilians and prevention of CRSV. UK troops themselves have visited a large number of Malian communities, including some which have not previously interacted with peacekeepers, to deter criminal activity and violence against civilians, to provide a UN presence and to understand local population's concerns.

The UK Government has a strong commitment to ensuring UN peacekeeping is equipped to tackle CRSV. Across all missions, including MINUSMA, and as a member of the UN Security Council, we support specific protection and assistance for women affected by armed conflict, and advocate for civilian and uniformed gender advisers to enable missions to address the needs of victims and survivors of CRSV.