Written question asked by David Anderson (Labour) on Friday, 16 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 March 2012. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Friday, 23 March 2012 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Ethiopia: Human Rights

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to recent allegations made by Human Rights Watch concerning UK development assistance to Ethiopia, if he will instigate an independent, impartial and transparent field-based investigation into the use of donor-funded government services for political purposes in Ethiopia.

Answer: The coalition Government take very seriously the allegations made by Human Rights Watch. When allegations were first made in 2009, the UK Government took immediate action. Working with the European Union, the United States and other donors, we published a study in August 2010, which found that there were good systems and safeguards for preventing misuse of aid and made recommendations on how to further improve transparency and independent monitoring. We continue to work with others to implement and strengthen these recommendations.The Development Assistance Group in Ethiopia (DAG) has appointed an international expert to co-ordinate work on aid management and utilisation. All UK Aid programmes now have a strong focus on managing fiduciary risks, value for money and monitoring and evaluation. A World Bank evaluation of the largest multi donor programme in Ethiopia,—Protection of Basic Services—strongly supported Government efforts at local levels in the areas of public financial management, fiscal transparency and social accountability.

Secondary information