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Written question asked by Baroness Goudie (Labour) on Monday, 3 February 2020, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 February 2020. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 18 February 2020 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Eritrea: National Service

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of national conscripts, reported to be at risk of sexual and gender-based violence, in the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa's programme 'Reconnecting Eritrea and Ethiopia through rehabilitation of the main arterial roads in Eritrea'.

Answer

UK support for the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa project, to reconnect Eritrea and Ethiopia through the rehabilitation of the main roads, is conditional on the EU working with the UN to monitor the treatment of national service workers implementing the project. The project, run by the Eritrean state-owned company Segen Engineering, will employ approximately 300 civilian National Service workers who will receive technical and health and safety training.

We are not aware of any reports of sexual or gender-based violence connected with this project or within the construction industry as a whole. DFID works closely with the European Union on our joint agenda to safeguard against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment. We will continue to review these specific concerns relating to Eritrean national service, and work with the EU to put further measures in place where we judge these are required.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL1258
Session
2019-21
Related items
Eritrea: National Service
Tuesday, 14 July 2020
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
National service Sexual offences Roads EU aid Eritrea
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk