Ethiopia and Eritrea

Lord Browne of Ladyton Excerpts

Tuesday 16th September 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Browne of Ladyton]

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they are monitoring the escalating tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and what steps they are taking to reduce the risk of renewed cross-border conflict and protect civilians in the region.

[Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Lemos) (Lab)]

My Lords, the UK does not support actions by any party that would bring conflict or instability to the region. Alongside partners, we continue to monitor the situation closely, to warn both countries about the risk of inflammatory action and to urge constructive dialogue.

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords, with the leave of the House, before I ask my supplementary question, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his deserved promotion and welcome him to his place on the Front Bench.

My noble friend will be aware that, in the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022, the Ethiopian federal Government and the Eritrean regime, with others, fought together against the TPLF in a war that caused between 160,000 and 600,000 civilian deaths. What assessment have His Majesty’s Government made of the reason for, and the implications of, a new and unthinkable unholy alliance between Eritrea and the TPLF, apparently formed with the aim of facing Ethiopia? What lies ahead?

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his question and his congratulations; his vast experience and expertise make me feel considerable humility standing here.

We cannot speculate at this time about what position either Government will take in relation to the tensions within Tigray. However, we have been clear that, for sustainable peace, the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement is required, including the withdrawal of forces other than the Ethiopian National Defense Force from Ethiopian territory. Both Government Ministers and senior officials have made clear that we do not support inflammatory action, by either side, to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Governments.