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Sudan: Armed Conflict

Volume 461: debated on Friday 15 June 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the role of the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool is in relation to the conflict in Darfur; and if she will make a statement. (141202)

The Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACPP) has provided vital funding to underpin UK efforts to address the problems of Darfur.

The UK is a leading supporter of the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and we have committed over £10 million of bilateral assistance through the ACPP. This funding has been used to pay for vehicles and rapid deployment kits for AMIS personnel. The ACPP has also provided funding for UK military training teams based in Africa to support pre-deployment training for approximately 4,000 AMIS peacekeepers drawn from Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana and Gambia. A further £62 million of bilateral support for AMIS has been committed through the peacekeeping budget.

In addition, over £600,000 of ACPP funds were used to provide budgetary support for the AU’s efforts to broker a political settlement through the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur in Abuja, which led to the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). The ACPP has subsequently funded work to help the AU explain the benefits of the DPA to the people of Darfur, and for an expert to support the AU in preparing the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation. We stand ready to support a secretariat to the AU and UN mediators who have prepared a roadmap for taking forward the political process.