Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if officials in her Department will meet displaced people from the Gambella region of Ethiopia to discuss forcible removal and abuse in the Ethiopian government's villagisation programme.

Since February 2011, DFID has undertaken several visits to Gambella and to Gambellan refugees residing in Kenya and South Sudan. These visits have included discussions about allegations of abuse and forced movement in relation to the Commune Development Programme.

DFID, together with partners from the Development Assistance Group in Ethiopia (the ‘DAG'), is planning a further visit to Gambella later this year.