Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support survivors of sexual violence in the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.

In northern Ethiopia, the UK has provided £4 million to help support survivors of sexual violence. We are also implementing recommendations from the 2021 scoping mission by the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts. This includes working with women's rights organisations to enhance support services to survivors of violence; new research into the drivers and dynamics of conflict-related sexual violence; and coordination of the international response to gender based violence. In October, we co-sponsored the resolution at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council to extend International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia's mandate. The former Minister for Development raised conflict related sexual violence with the Ethiopian President during her visit in October.