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.
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: 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.
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.
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 representations he has received on (a) the humanitarian situation in Western Tigray, (b) reports of ethnic cleansing and forced displacements of Tigrayan people in that region and( c) responsibility for that alleged ethnic cleansing.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK continues to ensure improved awareness of and response to the large-scale and country wide humanitarian needs. In particular the UK is monitoring upcoming climate outlooks and support planning for likely below average rains from June - September as well as El Nino conditions from June. The UK noted the report published by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in 2022 detailing widespread human rights violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict. The UK is committed to human rights being respected and those responsible for human rights abuses and violations being held to account. We continue to support the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. We are providing £4.5 million to help build the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through the UK's Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2020 to Question 8948 on Tigray: Humanitarian Situation, how many people were extradited from the US to the UK for (a) violent and (b) non-violent crimes in each year since 2018.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Year | Total number extradited | Total number extradited for non-violent offences | Total number extradited for violent offences |
2018 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
2019 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2020 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
2021 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
2022 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
2023* | 3 | 1 | 2 |
* Figures until 24 February 2023
For the above table, we have taken non-violent offences to include:
These figures provide updates on previously published statistics for 2018. All figures are from local management information and have not been quality assured to the level of published National Statistics. As such they should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change. The figures do not include Scotland, which deals with its own extradition cases.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
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 humanitarian situation in Tigray.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The humanitarian situation in Tigray remains very serious. According to the UN, approximately 5.4 million people require life-saving aid and hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine. The recent peace agreement between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) contained commitments to provide unfettered humanitarian access and the restoration of essential services. We welcome the early signs of progress, but humanitarian delivery needs to scale-up rapidly if it is to meet the desperate needs.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the situation in Tigray.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We welcome the recent agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front to end the conflict in northern Ethiopia. The agreement provides for unfettered humanitarian access and for the resumption of essential basic services. The humanitarian situation in Tigray remains very serious. According to the UN approximately 5.4 million people require life-saving aid and hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine.
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 discussions he has had with his Ethiopian counterpart on the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission's statement on detention for displaced civilians from Tigray and Amhara states at (a) Awash seven federal police training centre, (b) Jarre camp in North Wollo, Amhara and (c) Jarra camp in North Wollo, Amhara; and what assessment he has made of humanitarian conditions in these camps.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Our British Embassy in Addis Ababa monitors the situation of Internally Displaced Persons in coordination with human rights and humanitarian partners, including through visits to affected regions. We have raised the issue regarding conditions for people in sites for Internally Displaced Persons in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
Since November 2020, the UK has contributed over £75 million to the humanitarian response in northern Ethiopia, supporting UN and NGO partners to deliver life-saving assistance. This has included cash assistance, shelter and household supplies, and legal advice for Internally Displaced Persons.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with international partners over the renewed conflict in Ethiopia.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The breakdown of the truce and return to conflict between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Ethiopian Government is catastrophic for the people of Ethiopia. It risks tens of thousands of deaths, both directly through fighting and indirectly through a further deepening of the already dire humanitarian situation. 22 months since fighting began, it is clear that there is no military solution to the conflict.
The UK is heavily involved in international efforts to de-escalate conflict, stressing the need for a political solution, humanitarian access and accountability for atrocities. We support the African Union's mediation efforts to this end, and encourage a redoubling of these efforts to avert further escalation. The UK urges Tigrayan troops to leave Amhara and Eritrean troops to leave Tigray. We urge the Ethiopian Government to restore services to Tigray and both parties to begin direct talks without preconditions. Our Embassy in Addis Ababa is engaging with all parties to the conflict to deliver these messages.