§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the past three months UK military or diplomatic personnel have been confronted in Sierra Leone by persons purporting to be United Nations personnel but who were not; if he will give details of such instances where United Nations insignia or colours were being worn; and if any such incidents involved the discharge of firearms. [124837]
§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions are given to United Kingdom service personnel when they are required to communicate or collaborate with soldiers of the Sierra Leone Army whom they suspect are below 18 years of age; if those instructions provide specifically for cases where the child soldier is armed; and if he will make a statement. [124832]
§ Mr. HoonIt is the policy of the Government of Sierra Leone not to employ children under 18 in the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. Instructions were issued recently by President Kabbah that anyone under 18 currently serving in those forces should be disarmed and demobilised.
Should UK personnel come into contact with any suspected child combatant in the course of their duties, they are instructed to inform the most senior Sierra Leonean Army Commander on the scene and draw his attention to the Government of Sierra Leone's stated policy. This instruction applies whether the suspected child combatant is armed or not.