To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what budget and support the Government are providing to the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. (142557)

The UK is a leading provider of financial support to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). We have committed 373 million since AMIS was set up in July 2004. UK funds have helped to provide the force with vehicles, ground fuel and airlift of troops into Darfur, as well as funding for personnel costs such as troop salaries. We also contribute through the EU Africa Peace Facility that has so far committed €242 million to AMIS and is about to commit an additional €40 million. We are also pressing for others to do more.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government plan to send troops to Darfur as part of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force. (142559)

The UK will be a strong supporter of the African Union (AU)-UN hybrid force, both politically and financially through our contributions to UN assessed funding for peacekeeping, currently set at 7.9 per cent. of the total. We are providing police and military advisers to assist the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) with planning for the hybrid operation. We have also deployed a military officer to Sudan to assist with the transition from the AU Mission in Sudan to the hybrid force. We will consider requests for troop contributions as and when we receive them from DPKO. The details of the force have now been agreed between the AU and UN and we are pressing the Sudanese Government to accept them and facilitate its deployment. A significant part of that agreement is that troops should be to the greatest possible extent contributed by African states.