To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of funding allocated by the Government in response to the Tigray crisis is supporting refugees in Sudan; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that communities that are persecuted as a result of their religion or belief have equal access to that aid within Sudan.
Answered on
19 November 2021
The conflict in Tigray has had significant consequences and has displaced millions of people including more than 63,000 Ethiopian refugees who have sought safety in Sudan. The UK has provided £6.1 million in funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Danish Refugee Council to address urgent needs arising from the Tigray crisis in Sudan. This is part of an overall UK's commitment to of more than £76 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict, making the UK the second largest donor.
Our priority is to ensure that all Ethiopians in need, irrespective of ethnicity, religion and political affiliation, receive life-saving aid and that humanitarian access to areas affected by insecurity is maintained. 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 at the Westminster Hall Debate on 3 November and in my tweet 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.