Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the risk to the Pretoria Agreement from renewed hostilities in Tigray; and what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help protect displaced and other conflict-affected communities.

The Government is deeply concerned by the renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia and the implications across the Horn of Africa. We have called on all parties to end hostilities, respect international humanitarian law, allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and return to dialogue under African Union-led mediation.

The principles of the Pretoria agreement are fundamental to sustainable peace in Tigray. Ministers and senior officials have engaged with all parties to call for restraint and de-escalation. We are also coordinating closely with the African Union, United Nations and international partners. We call on all parties to protect civilians, including women and girls, and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. On 23 October, our Ambassador to Ethiopia publicly welcomed the stated intention of the new caretaker administration in Tigray to restore basic services and enable elections and said that delivering on these ambitions will help create the conditions for future stability.