Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the desecration of the grave and memorial of the late Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zanawi, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa; and in particular, its implications for the (1) safety, and (2) security, of people in Ethiopia associated with him.

We are concerned by reports of widespread human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia committed by all sides to the conflict. Rhetoric and actions which inflame ethnic tensions serve only to perpetuate the conflict.

The Foreign Secretary spoke to Deputy Prime Minister Demeke on 5 November. Our Ambassador in Addis Ababa spoke to Prime Minister Abiy on 28 October. The Minister for Africa spoke to Ethiopian State Minister Redwan on 18 November and the Ethiopian Minister of Justice, Gedion, on 6 December. In all of these meetings, we raised the UK's concerns about human rights and urged all parties to stop fighting and begin talks.