Select committee: International Development Committee
Conclusion 65
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 8 April US AID announced it was “providing more than $152 million in additional humanitarian assistance” to address “life-threatening hunger and acute malnutrition, as well as provide safe drinking water, urgently needed medical and health support, and shelter for some of the estimated one million people who have fled their homes.” US AID went on to say: The United States remains deeply concerned about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Tigray and the lack of sufficient humanitarian funding to address it. Large-scale assistance is urgently needed to prevent conditions in Tigray from worsening. The United States urges other donors to immediately increase their contributions to address Ethiopia’s critical humanitarian needs, and to help the most vulnerable people in the Tigray region.143 142 Q10 [Paul Turnbull] 143 US AID, United States announces more than $152 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people affected by Tigray crisis, 8 April 2021 26 The humanitarian situation in Tigray
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.