Select committee: International Development Committee
Conclusion 40
Tenth Report - The humanitarian situation in Tigray
Published 30 Apr 2021
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)
On 12 April the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary said: I heard first hand, from humanitarian workers in Gondar, about the access challenges …. the Ethiopian government have announced changes in the process for humanitarian agency personnel to enter and move around in Tigray. Unfortunately, the changes have not yet resulted in a major scaling- up of the relief effort and many people in Tigray remain beyond the reach of aid agencies. The ongoing violence, the presence of Eritrean troops and the lack of access humanitarians have to communications equipment are proving a massive impediment to the delivery of essential aid and services.97 On 22 April, the UN Security Council noted that insecurity in the region continued to impede ongoing humanitarian operations and called for a restoration of normalcy.98 In evidence to the Committee on 22 April 2021, the Foreign Secretary told us that securing greater humanitarian access was a priority. He added that: They have gone from a consent basis to a notification basis, which is progress, but we need to make sure we secure unfettered access.99
From: International Development Committee, Tenth Report - The humanitarian situation in Tigray, 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.