Ethiopia

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 4th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

Does the Minister not agree that were it not for the crisis in Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis in Tigray and in the rest of Ethiopia, with the famine and drought, would be at the forefront of world consideration today? Does he also agree that the perhaps the only glimmer of hope in this tragic situation is the initiative of the AU and the ceasefire? Is that ceasefire holding, and how can we build on the initiative?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, as the noble Lord rightly points out, the humanitarian ceasefire came into being on 26 March. As I said in my earlier response to my noble friend Lady Anelay, we have now seen the impact of that in that we have seen all the regions, including the authorities in Ethiopia, in Afar and Tigray, respecting that humanitarian ceasefire and allowing aid to get through to the people who need it most. I accept the point that the noble Lord makes about Ukraine but I hope I have provided a degree of reassurance that we are keeping focused not just on Ukraine but on other humanitarian situations across the world.