§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on what training is provided for(a) officers and (b) other ranks, on understanding international law. [103228]
§ Mr. SpellarTraining in aspects of international law, and specifically in the law of Armed Conflict', is provided to both officers and other ranks of all three services as part of initial basic training, in accordance with the requirements of the Hague and Geneva Conventions. Further training in international law, again covering the legitimacy of military operations and on the conduct of waging war, is provided on a wide range of specialist training courses, on both a single service and joint service basis. Furthermore, additional training and briefings 363W relating to relevant international law are normally provided to formed units of all three services by legal specialists prior to operational deployment.