Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of atrocities in Tigray; what steps they are taking in response to the report by Amnesty International Ethiopia: The massacre in Axum, published on 26 February, which asserts that mass killings of civilians in Axum may amount to crimes against humanity; and what steps they are taking (1) to collect evidence of any such crimes, and (2) to bring those responsible to justice.

On 26 February the Minister for Africa stated that we are deeply saddened by the reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on the human rights violations of civilians in Axum, Ethiopia. While the Government of Ethiopia have said that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission will lead an independent investigation with support from the UN, we will continue to call for independent, international investigations into these and other crimes reported in Tigray, and for the Government of Ethiopia to ensure full access for human rights organisations.

In a joint statement on Ethiopia with 41 other countries at the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council, we condemned in the strongest terms the reported killings of civilians. We have raised our concerns with Ethiopian Ministers, making clear the overriding need to protect civilians and adhere to international law and to international human rights law. The Minister for Africa re-enforced the urgency of the need for humanitarian access when he spoke with the Ethiopian Ambassador on 24 February.