Tigray

James Duddridge Excerpts

Wednesday 8th September 2021 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (James Duddridge)]

Fantastic. Thank you, Mr Davies, for providing plenty of time. I know that there is lots of interest in this issue across the House, and it is quite right that we review it. This is a great opportunity both to update the House on what is happening and to answer questions directly, and I am more than happy to take interventions throughout.

The horrific conflict in northern Ethiopia has now entered its 11th month. To make matters worse—to reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) and others—I am concerned about it spreading not only within the region but across the rest of Ethiopia. I will go into more detail on contacts and activity, which are very much at the forefront of what is happening in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office—I was in a meeting with the Foreign Secretary last week reviewing all this. As the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) mentioned, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Prime Minister Abiy last month, and not a day goes by when I do not engage in this issue, either directly or through other intermediaries, whether they be other countries, regional players or organisations. This is not just a concern for the United Kingdom; it is a concern across the continent and for international bodies.

May I address the issue of money? I know that there is a debate about the 0.5% and 0.7% commitments, but the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth nailed it when he referred to Samantha Power. The real issue is not money and resource in Ethiopia; it is getting access. I will go through some of the detail and the numbers on that access. The next stage will be moving from conflict to mediation, when I am sure there will be resourcing issues, and the points being made now will perhaps be more relevant. I will not focus on the broader debate; hopefully hon. Members will recognise that there is a more immediate problem of access.

Let me get into some of the detail and update the House on what has been happening. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front continues military action, which is going beyond Tigray into the Amhara and Afar regions. That is extending the remit and the nature of the suffering. We have consistently called on all sides to stop the fighting. It is horrific to have to listen to the stories of what is happening, but it is clear that rape, sexual violence and famine are being used as weapons of war. Reference was made to chemical weapons. It is difficult to establish definitively what is being used, but it is clear that civilian populations are being targeted, which in itself is against international humanitarian law. If someone’s child, mother or family dies, how they die may be technically relevant, but their being targeted is the offensive thing that we need to stop happening.

Humanitarian agencies are realistically facing what I would describe as a de facto blockade of aid into Tigray. To avert further humanitarian catastrophe beyond the atrocities we have already seen, we call on the Ethiopian Government to allow unfettered access and start restoring essential services. I will go into a bit more detail in a second.

Eritrean forces are, alas, once again in Ethiopian sovereign territory in significant numbers. They must withdraw, and their failure to do so will lead to a further escalation in this conflict, which simply is not needed. The position that both parties are taking is not helpful. I have been asked about mediation. There have been a number of mediation attempts, and there is a lot of discussion. I will not go into the detail of some of that mediation, but it is fair to say that it is not currently working, so different things need to be tried in different ways.

Since November, more than 2 million people have been displaced across Tigray, and 450,000 have been displaced just in Afar and Amhara in the more recent conflicts. Basically, everything has broken down. Ninety per cent. of hospitals and health centres are not working. There are no banking facilities and no electricity. Communications are down, which makes it very difficult to verify some of the stories. If things open up, which we encourage, no doubt we will find out more and it will feel worse.

[Florence Eshalomi]

On communications, I highlighted that I have constituents who are very worried about their families. If the Minister is saying that communication has broken down, is there anything more the Government can do to help Members who are trying to get that crucial information for their constituents?

[James Duddridge]

There are things at the periphery that can be done, but the heart is about building that access in the fullest sense of the word. Early in the conflict, we were even finding evidence of satellite phones from aid organisations being taken and used for other purposes, further breaking down communication. There are some parties that do not want open access to communications—they want to finish the conflict, as they see it—on both sides.

On supplies getting through, there is a need for more than 100 trucks every single day to get in. That is a massive logistical effort, even if everybody were behind it. Since 12 July, only about 10% of the required aid has been able to get through, so UN warehouses in Tigray are not being restocked: they are empty. Most people are not eating, effectively, or are not eating enough. There is no private sector provision, so even if one has money there is nothing to buy. Displaced individuals are relying on host communities who are already suffering. The lack of goods means that prices have gone up fivefold, and community resilience is eroding to the point of tipping over to an even more serious and systemic problem.

[Sarah Champion]

The director of Oxfam in Ethiopia yesterday raised the fact that because the internet is down—deliberately—it was almost impossible to get money transfers, which deeply hampers its process. May I echo his plea for the Minister to try to get at least a window of the internet up so that money transfers can occur?

[James Duddridge]

I will investigate the specific issue of internationals working together to make sure that money comes through. I am in touch with Ethiopian Ministers, including the Finance Minister, and I will raise that issue with him. That is a slightly separate problem from the one that we are discussing.

[Jim Shannon]

In my contribution, I referred to churches and NGOs who are active in the Tigray region. If we have such groups operating there, is it not possible to co-ordinate our relief efforts alongside those people and groups to ensure that when it comes to getting to the people who need it, they can work in partnership? That is just a thought. It is important to use all the avenues that we can.

[James Duddridge]

It is a good thought. It is something that we are doing and will do. I will certainly discuss with our envoy for freedom of religion or belief, my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), how to make it as effective as possible. The networks are really useful to validate informally before we see what is happening on the ground.

[Stephen Doughty]

On the point about communications, the Minister is aware that our own CDC and also Vodafone have invested substantial amounts in the new Ethiopia telecommunications partnership. Opening up telecommunications to people in Ethiopia is obviously a good thing for all the people, but, given the issues with money transfers, internet access and telecommunications being cut off, is there not an incongruity here? What will we do through those investments to ensure that we get telecommunications open in Tigray properly?

[James Duddridge]

Various Members have talked about the size of the population of 120 million. My hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson), the able chair of the all-party group, has talked about a nation of optimism. This is one of the gems at the heart of our east African strategy. It would be a bastion of stability if we could build out and not have to resolve problems. Telecommunications is an essential good. It allows people to trade and allows cash transfers, so the investment is right. It is a long-term investment that we have talked about for years and will be deliverable going forward. It does seem incongruous to talk of Ethiopia as a place of optimism and investment, but we simply have to get back to that place when we get beyond this because that is where development happens.

There are echoes of the ’80s and Live Aid—we did a brilliant job, and Ethiopia has done a brilliant job in bringing itself up. When there has been a natural crisis, it has needed help, but it has also been able to help itself. We need to reset and get back to that position, but we are so far from that point at the moment.

[Mr Mitchell]

The Minister is right about the massive British taxpayer investment and the huge results that have been achieved. Will he follow my earlier comments and give Members an undertaking that he will look personally at the funding for the World Food Programme, which is absolutely at the critical edge of the humanitarian crisis? Will he look at its funding this year to see what more can be done to meet the need?

[James Duddridge]

I will. I am already in communication with David Beasley and have discussed food provision in Ethiopia with him. He is an influential figure in the region. Today, my initial issue is getting access: it is not getting food. Until we sort that, no amount of money or WFP extra resource will do it, but there will be a point at which we need to do that and we need to be ready, so I pledge to have another discussion with David Beasley to take the issues forward.

I am concerned to hear reports of press, NGOs, civil society and churches being targeted. We will confirm whether that is happening. If people are being arrested based on their ethnicity, clearly there needs to be stringent following of international human rights rules. I want to reassure hon. Members that we are fully engaged at all levels—locally with those groups and at the United Nations through Lord Ahmad.

Nick Dyer has also been to Ethiopia twice since November with the envoy on famine prevention, and has had access to Tigray. British embassy staff have visited on multiple occasions. I spoke yesterday with our chargé and new development director to get updates. That is a very normal thing, although I would have done that in preparation for this debate—as I say, not a day goes by that I am not doing something on this. That is not to say we are doing enough, but it gives hon. Members an idea.

It is good that President Obasanjo was appointed on 26 August to look at issues in the horn. That is another way of pushing mediation of various descriptions. We are doing a lot through the G7, through discussions with all counterparties. Notwithstanding the fact that money and food are not the immediate issue, we are still the second largest donor to Ethiopia.

On sexual violence, there is some good news. My hon. Friend the hon. Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall), who is no longer in his place, led a debate on that following his intervention on the Select Committee. We are now deploying two individuals based on the scoping mission into Mekelle.

[Fleur Anderson]

Will the Minister give way?

[James Duddridge]

Very briefly.

--- Later in debate ---

[Fleur Anderson]

I have a very short question. The Minister referred to high-level conversations; has the Prime Minister spoken to Prime Minister Abiy?

[James Duddridge]

I do not know, so I do not want to say yes or no and mislead. This is very much on his desk, but I do not have a kind of tick-tock of his interactions. The situation is dire and horrific, but there is a nation and a positive relationship we can get back to. We have a long-standing and deep friendship with the people of Ethiopia. Our development partnership has made a major contribution to lifting people out of poverty and to political and economic reform, and had increased prosperity in that country. I talk today about the horrific incidents with great sadness, but we should aim to get back to where we were, progress with that nation and put it back on a more positive path.

[Sarah Champion]

I thank every Member who has spoken, for both the tone and the content. I thank the Minister, who I know is deeply committed to this area. The problem is that this is not going to go away. It is important for us all to keep it on the agenda of the Minister and of the international community. The risks we have highlighted are dire. I cannot see an easy way for them to be resolved without international intervention, to get all the parties round the table and discuss a long-term solution. The threats to the broader region are profound.

I would like to raise one thing with the Minister that came up in the debate: atrocity prevention. It was the one thing in the Committee’s report that the Government pushed back on. I would like to request a meeting with the Minister to discuss that.

[James Duddridge]

I agree. I note the work that has been done on that, but there is still more to be done, and a more nuanced solution. I will arrange a meeting with officials to work out a better way forward following the Committee’s report.

[Sarah Champion]

Thank you.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the humanitarian situation in Tigray.