Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in Ethiopia on lifting the state of emergency in place in that country.

The British Government has made clear our concern and disappointment at the imposition of the current State of Emergency, and our strong hope that it will be lifted as soon as possible. We have urged the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that human rights and the constitution are respected, and made clear that widespread use of detention powers and internet blockages should be avoided. In this regard, we welcomed the recent move to switch mobile internet back on across the country – this had been shut off outside the capital for several months.