Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report, published by UN OCHA on 17 February 2022, what recent steps she has taken to enable humanitarian partners in the Tigray region of Ethiopia to access fuel to enable delivery of supplies across the region.

The situation report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) dated 17 February 2022 makes clear the critical shortage of fuel and other essential commodities in Tigray and consequently how relief operations across the region have come to a standstill.

Since the start of the conflict in early November 2021 the UK has been consistent in calling for unfettered humanitarian access so that life-saving supplies as well as fuel can be delivered. On my visit to Addis Ababa on 20 January 2022 I discussed the clear need for an urgent improvement in humanitarian access with the Government of Ethiopia, including in my meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. All parties to the conflict must facilitate free and unrestricted access for humanitarian goods and personnel in-line with international humanitarian law.