Select committee: International Development Committee
Conclusion 9
Tenth Report - The humanitarian situation in Tigray
Published 30 Apr 2021
Paragraph 47
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee Humanitarian crises monitoring: Ethiopia’s Tigray region All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We commend the work of aid agencies in their provision of lifesaving assistance to communities in Tigray, despite the extraordinarily difficult circumstances in which they are delivering this help. It is likely that the number of people whose basic needs are not met will grow as the conflict continues. In addition, as humanitarian agencies reach parts of Tigray that have so far been inaccessible, they will discover many more cases of unmet need, creating a widening gap between the level of need and the provision that has been made.
From: International Development Committee, Tenth Report - The humanitarian situation in Tigray, paragraph 47, 30 April 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 16 July 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states that it agrees with the Committee's four core areas for future action, while saying all four are "predicated on an end to fighting", and it responds to the individual recommendations with a mix of continuing action and some stated disagreement.
- On genocide, it says its "longstanding position is that any determination of genocide is an issue for competent courts, rather than governments", and that its focus is on ending violence and protecting civilians.
- It does not accept the call for a separate atrocity prevention strategy, saying it does "not assess that a separate atrocity prevention strategy is necessary" as the work is already in existing work streams.
- It says it does "not share" the assessment that the WFP head's visit improved access, pointing to continuing problems with communications equipment and travel approvals.
- On reconstruction, it says it is "too early for detailed reconstruction planning" but that some initial consideration of recovery planning "will commence at an early stage". On funding, it cites £47.7m to the Tigray response and says it keeps support under review.