Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the finding in report of the international commission of human rights experts on Ethiopia, published by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 19 September 2022, that the denial and obstruction of humanitarian access to Tigray Region by the Federal Government of Ethiopia and allied regional State governments was committed for the purpose of depriving the Tigrayan population of objects indispensable for its survival, including food and healthcare, if he will take steps to help support accountability in relation to this finding.

The UK co-sponsored the resolution mandating the creation of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE). We will be strongly supporting the renewal of the Commission's mandate at the forthcoming 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council, as made clear in the statement delivered by the UK's Ambassador for Human Rights on 22 September. We are urging all parties to facilitate its investigations, for the Ethiopian Government to cooperate with the Commission, and to support the extension of its mandate at this session. The British Embassy in Ethiopia regularly raises human rights issues with the Ethiopian Government.

The UK's Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme (HARP) in Ethiopia is providing support to build the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, including enhanced investigative capacity, and to establish a national conflict research facility through Conciliation Resources and the Rift Valley Institute.