Tigray: Internet and Telecommunications

(asked on 7th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of telecommunications and internet access to (a) civilians, (b) media organisations and (c) humanitarian organisations in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 10th June 2021

We are concerned about limitations to access to telecommunications in Tigray. Some humanitarian agencies have reported a recent improvement in the numbers of satellite phones and radios they have been allowed to import into Ethiopia. However, this is not across the board and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in particular note ongoing challenges. Internet access remains very problematic with NGOs, for example, reliant on services provided by the UN.

We continue to call for improved access to communications in Tigray as vital for an effective humanitarian response and in shining a light on the grave human rights atrocities that continue to be committed there.

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