UN Mission in Mali: Armed Forces Deployment

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:16 pm on 9 December 2020.

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Photo of James Heappey James Heappey The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence 2:16, 9 December 2020

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right: interpreters are an essential part of any population-centric military mission. There are French-speaking personnel within the force itself and we will be recruiting local interpreters to join the force. Crucially, they will not just be male interpreters who stand on the shoulder of the male platoon commander but female interpreters who work alongside human security officers, so that we are able to engage with all parts of the community in the course of our mission.