To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK’s aid response to the crisis in Tigray is helping vulnerable groups including minority religious or belief communities.
Answered on
11 November 2021
On 16 October, I announced an additional £29 million of humanitarian aid to people affected by the catastrophic conflict in northern Ethiopia. This increases the UK's commitment to the crisis to more than £76 million making the UK the second largest donor. Our priority is supporting Ethiopians in need including vulnerable groups from minority religious or belief communities. Humanitarian operations in Tigray have come to a standstill owing to the de facto blockade imposed by the Ethiopian Government since late June. Prior to the blockade, UK funded partners were working in the most challenging circumstances to provide life-saving assistance to displaced persons, refugees and others. I have called on all parties in Ethiopia to urgently agree a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid through and for the Ethiopian Government to lift the blockade of humanitarian relief into the Tigray region. I reiterated this in my tweet on 3 November and at a Westminster Hall Debate on the same day. We continue to push both sides of the conflict to prioritise the wellbeing of people in need in northern Ethiopia and allow the flow of badly needed humanitarian assistance.