Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Human Rights Watch Ethiopia: Eritrean Forces Massacre Tigray Civilians, published on 5 March; and what steps they are taking to hold those responsible for reported mass killings in Axum to account.

I refer the noble Lord to my response to his Oral question (volume 810, column 1468) answered on 9 March 2021. On 26 February the Minister for Africa stated that we are deeply saddened and concerned by the reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on the human rights violations of civilians in Axum, Ethiopia. These require a serious and urgent response from the Government of Ethiopia. We 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. We have made this clear to the Government of Ethiopia. The Minister for Africa also pressed the need for the immediate withdrawal by Eritrean troops from Tigray and raised our concerns about human rights abuses in Tigray when he met the Eritrean Ambassador to the UK this week.