Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people at risk of death from (a) hunger and (b) drought in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
During my recent visit to Ethiopia, I saw firsthand the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Tigray. Across northern Ethiopia, including Tigray, El Nino is causing drought that is affecting 4 million people. According to assessments from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1.4 million in Tigray will need immediate emergency food assistance because of drought.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 9 February (HL1953), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what assessment they have made of reports by the Mekelle branch of the Ethiopian Ombudsman Institution on 24 January that in five camps of internally displaced people in Tigray, 900 had died due to starvation.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A press release relating to the Ombudsman's report was issued on 30 January. It did not state what evidence the Ombudsman team were basing their observations on or what methodology they had used to determine cause of death. We use all available data sources to assess the severity of food insecurity across northern Ethiopia. In his recent visit to Ethiopia in February 2024, Minister Andrew Mitchell saw firsthand the worsening humanitarian situation in Tigray and announced an additional £100 million to end preventable deaths, targeting three million people across Ethiopia including those who are most at risk in the northern regions.
Apr. 16 2024
Source Page: UK pledges support for vulnerable communities in EthiopiaFound: and has pledged vital life-saving assistance to help hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians, as their humanitarian
Mentions:
1: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Lab - Life peer) It would re-energise commitments to international humanitarian law and rehabilitate Britain’s battered - Speech Link
2: Lord Polak (Con - Life peer) I have spoken about the situation of the Uighurs. - Speech Link
3: Lord Alton of Liverpool (XB - Life peer) few minutes I will focus on three particular cases that underline why a Bill of this kind is needed: Tigray - Speech Link
4: Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab - Life peer) We are clear about the need to avoid a Rafah offensive, and instead to secure an immediate humanitarian - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford) unsettled.Examples of groups that are targeted include the Yazidis and groups in Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Tigray - Speech Link
2: Fleur Anderson (Lab - Putney) Government of Pakistan, which I hope the Minister will look at and consider as well.Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Tigray - Speech Link
3: Fleur Anderson (Lab - Putney) ill-prepared to respond to some of the greatest foreign policy crises of our time: Sudan, Ukraine, Tigray - Speech Link
4: Brendan O'Hara (SNP - Argyll and Bute) After all that we have seen in Ukraine, Gaza, Tigray, Darfur and Xinjiang, is that really still the UK - Speech Link
5: Lyn Brown (Lab - West Ham) The situation is utterly bleak. - Speech Link
Found: M ore recent Library briefings are highlighted at relevant points. 8 WHO, Situation report
Mentions:
1: Wayne David (Lab - Caerphilly) The situation in Gaza is truly appalling, but the situation in the west bank is also a cause for huge - Speech Link
2: Andrew Mitchell (Con - Sutton Coldfield) I was recently in Ethiopia, and was able to visit Tigray and the edge of the most food-insecure area, - Speech Link
3: David Rutley (Con - Macclesfield) Friend that I was recently in TCI and I understand the situation there. - Speech Link
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he had made of the implications for his policies of the (a) humanitarian, (b) human rights and (c) security situation in the (i) Tigray, (ii) Amhara and (iii) Oromia regions of Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The humanitarian level of need across Ethiopia remains high. Last year, UK humanitarian assistance supported 950,000 with medical supplies, treatment for 80,000 malnourished children and women, and education for 10,000 boys and girls. This year Ethiopia has been designated a Focus Country in both the 2022 Human Rights and Democracy Report and the Women, Peace and Security National Action. We welcome the Ethiopian government's commitment to establish a national Transitional Justice policy and the progress on consultation to date. The Ambassador to Ethiopia recently announced funding for the African Union's monitoring, verification and compliance mechanism to support the implementation of the Pretoria peace deal.
Mentions:
1: Lord Alton of Liverpool (XB - Life peer) China’s blocking of a UN debate on the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report on the situation in - Speech Link
2: Baroness Swinburne (Con - Life peer) assessment of whether UK engagement may contribute to a violation of human rights or international humanitarian - Speech Link
3: Baroness Swinburne (Con - Life peer) The Foreign Secretary has been clear that Israel’s actions must comply with international humanitarian - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that 700 people have died of hunger over a two-month period in the camp for internally displaced people at Shire, Western Tigray.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the reports of widespread hunger and other challenging circumstances people face in camps in Tigray. We do not currently have further information on the specific reports of deaths in the Shire camp. Humanitarian partners in Ethiopia are closely following the situation of vulnerable people across Ethiopia and investigating allegations of risk to life as a result of gaps in food assistance. We continue to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people across Ethiopia, including in Tigray.