To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) financial and (b) technical support the UK provides to the Colombian (i) police and (ii) armed forces.
Answered on
18 March 2021
The UK is a key supporter of the implementation of Colombia's historic peace agreement. Over the past five years, the UK has provided £61.7 million through the Conflict, Security, and Stabilisation Fund (CSSF), which has allowed us to provide niche technical and financial support on stabilisation, policing, and transitional justice. In 2020, the UK launched a three year £2.1 million Police Innovations for Stabilisation in Colombia Programme (SCIP), which is helping the transformation of the Colombian National Police. The SCIP aims to contribute to the modernization of the police service by scaling up and improving police practices with a preventive approach, focusing on i) Community-based police prevention; ii) Transformation of large-scale social conflicts from a rights-based approach; and iii) Gender mainstreaming.
Fewer than 10 UK armed forces personnel are deployed to Colombia in support of the Colombian police and armed forces, as well as in capacity building support to the Colombian Ministry of Defence, which has responsibility for both the Colombian Armed Forces and the police service.