Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received regarding the circumstances of Mr Paulin Makaya, a dual British-Congolese national, who has been prevented by the authorities in Congo-Brazzaville from leaving that country to seek medical treatment; and what consular assistance, if any, they have provided to him.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Mr Paulin Makaya has successfully departed the Republic of the Congo (RoC) and is now in the UK. The UK does not have a resident Embassy in the RoC, but engaged with the RoC authorities on his case through our Embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UK's consular team in Kinshasa was engaged with Mr Makaya's case from his initial arrest through to his later release from prison, helping secure his ultimate departure to the UK.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the humanitarian relief effort in Ethiopia of the UN's suspension of food distribution in the Amhara region; and in particular, on the number of deaths of children in that region.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
This conflict in Ethiopia has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, with the UN estimating that 9.4 million people across the north of the country require life-saving aid. Over 400,000 people in Tigray are experiencing famine-like conditions. The context could not be more serious.
We remain extremely concerned about the limited delivery of humanitarian aid across northern Ethiopia with conflict and access restrictions hindering the ability of aid agencies to work. Such restrictions are also complicating the conduct of needs assessments meaning we lack a detailed understanding of humanitarian requirements across northern Ethiopia. However, experience from other contexts shows us that young children bear the brunt of such crises. For example it is likely that many children in Afar, Amhara and Tigray have succumbed to otherwise preventable diseases such as diarrhoea due to the limited availability of clean water and healthcare and nutritional services.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the parties engaged in the conflict in Ethiopia to permit the resumption of food distribution by the UN in areas affected by that conflict.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
This conflict in Ethiopia has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, with the UN estimating that 9.4 million people across the north of the country require life-saving aid. Over 400,000 people in Tigray are experiencing famine-like conditions. The context could not be more serious.
Since the outset of the conflict in November 2020 the UK has continually advocated for unfettered access for all humanitarian actors. In its interactions with the various warring parties UK Ministers and FCDO officials have repeatedly stressed the criticality of free access for aid agencies.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the desecration of the grave and memorial of the late Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zanawi, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa; and in particular, its implications for the (1) safety, and (2) security, of people in Ethiopia associated with him.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are concerned by reports of widespread human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia committed by all sides to the conflict. Rhetoric and actions which inflame ethnic tensions serve only to perpetuate the conflict.
The Foreign Secretary spoke to Deputy Prime Minister Demeke on 5 November. Our Ambassador in Addis Ababa spoke to Prime Minister Abiy on 28 October. The Minister for Africa spoke to Ethiopian State Minister Redwan on 18 November and the Ethiopian Minister of Justice, Gedion, on 6 December. In all of these meetings, we raised the UK's concerns about human rights and urged all parties to stop fighting and begin talks.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the UK’s vaccines they intend to donate to developing countries; and through what mechanism they will make such donations.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Prime Minister has committed the UK to donating 100 million COVID-19 vaccines by mid-2022. At the G20 last month, he set out plans to deliver the first 70 million. All donations will go to developing countries, and at least 80% will be donated through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the COVAX scheme; and whether they plan to propose any reforms to the scheme.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is committed to ending the acute phase of the pandemic as soon as possible, and strongly supports the COVAX Facility as a mechanism to enable this. We are among the largest donors to COVAX's Advance Market Commitment, committing £548 million that will help supply at least 1.8 billion COVID-19 vaccines to up to 92 low- and middle-income countries by early 2022. The UK will also donate 100 million COVID-19 vaccines to countries in need, 80% of which will go through COVAX.
COVAX has an ongoing monitoring and evaluation workstream, and shares results data regularly with stakeholders. FCDO officials are planning to undertake an annual review of the UK's COVAX funding at the start of 2022, and the key findings and recommendations of the review will be available on FCDO's DevTracker.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the level of spending of Overseas Development Assistance in strengthening health care systems in (1) Ghana, (2) Nigeria, and (3) other Commonwealth countries.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
With the Spending Review 2021 settlement in place, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will now begin to allocate its resources. An internal process of budget setting will begin shortly and conclude later this financial year. No decisions on specific programmes and geographical areas have yet been made. This internal process will be driven by the International Development Strategy which will ensure the UK's development assistance is aligned with the vision the Prime Minister set out in the Integrated Review.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into alleged violations of human rights in Tigray, published on 3 November; what implications the findings will have on the UK’s Overseas Development Assistance funding to Ethiopia; and what steps they will take, if any, to support (1) internally displaced persons, and (2) refugees.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK strongly supported a resolution at the June session of the Human Rights Council backing that investigation and ensuring that its report and its findings will be debated by the Human Rights Council.
The report by the joint UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission investigation, published on 3 November, concludes that "There are reasonable grounds to believe that all parties to the conflict have violated the rights of refugees as stipulated under international human rights law, humanitarian law, refugee law, and national laws. Such acts warrant further investigation and may amount to war crimes". It is essential that all those responsible for violations of human rights, refugee and international humanitarian law are held to account.
The UK is a major humanitarian and development donor to Ethiopia with Ethiopia one of the largest recipients of UK Overseas Development Assistance. We keep this relationship under review and will take action to adjust our engagement as necessary as the operating context changes.
Within Tigray approximately 2 million people have been displaced by the ongoing violence with Eritrean refugees also impacted and in some cases directly targeted by belligerents. Humanitarian operations in Tigray have come to a standstill owing to the de facto blockade imposed by the federal 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.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation of the Tigrayan minority in Ethiopia; and reports of human rights abuses of that community in (1) Addis Ababa, and (2) other cities outside Tigray.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are extremely concerned by reports of widespread human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia against the Tigrayan minority including in Addis Ababa and outside of Tigray. The Minister for Africa spoke at a Westminster Hall Debate on 3 November and highlighted the horrific scale and nature of human rights abuses against civilians in Tigray as reported by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is essential that all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses be held to account. All parties must implement the recommendations and ensure that victims have access to support.
The Foreign Secretary, our Ambassador in Addis Ababa and the Minister for Africa continue to raise human rights issues in our discussions with the Ethiopian Government and more broadly we have reminded all warring parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the escalating military conflict in Ethiopia, and (2) the introduction of a state of emergency in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is deeply concerned about the escalating military conflict in Ethiopia. The Minister for Africa spoke at a Westminster Hall Debate on 3 November about how the conflict has created a humanitarian catastrophe and seen horrific human rights abuses committed against civilians. She called for all parties to immediately agree to stop fighting and open dialogue. She said that the advance of Tigrayan forces must stop and they should not enter Addis Ababa.
On 9 November the FCDO updated it's Travel Advice to British nationals, advising them against all travel to Ethiopia, with the exception of Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, where the advice is against all but essential travel. British nationals have been advised to leave Ethiopia while commercial routes are available.
Following the declaration of a State of Emergency in Ethiopia on 2 November, the Minister for Africa issued a tweet and called again on all parties to urgently cease fighting and start talks. It is important that the State of Emergency does not undermine basic human rights and international humanitarian law, for which the Government of Ethiopia is responsible.