Across Tigray and other parts of northern Ethiopia, El Nino has caused drought that is affecting 4 million people. According to assessments from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1.4 million people in Tigray will need immediate emergency food assistance because of drought. I witnessed firsthand the effects of this during my visit in February 2024. In response, I announced an additional £100 million to fund our Ending Preventable Deaths Programme, which will target three million people across Ethiopia including those who are most at risk in the northern regions. The UK also co-hosted a donor conference in Geneva on 16 April and successfully raised £610 million to meet humanitarian needs in Ethiopia.

During my recent visit to Ethiopia, I saw firsthand the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Tigray. Across northern Ethiopia, including Tigray, El Nino is causing drought that is affecting 4 million people. According to assessments from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1.4 million in Tigray will need immediate emergency food assistance because of drought.

The signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) in November 2022, reduced the scale of violations and abuses in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, though reports of sexual and gender-based violence continued throughout last year, particularly in areas occupied by Eritrea and militias. The space for civil society and media continues to be constrained and whilst progress has been made in the process to develop a national Transitional Justice policy, implementation and genuine accountability for human rights violations and abuses remains lacking.

Conflict, drought, and economic challenges are exacerbating humanitarian crises across Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. His Majesty's Ambassador to Ethiopia frequently discusses these issues with interlocutors in the Government of Ethiopia, including how best the UK can support peace and security. The UK is scaling up our response to escalating humanitarian needs across Ethiopia, with an expansion of our nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and protection support across the country, including in Tigray, through UN, NGO and Red Cross partners.

Internal conflict, drought, and economic challenges are exacerbating humanitarian crises across Ethiopia. Famine risk in Tigray and elsewhere in Ethiopia increases as these factors are prolonged and if the international community does not expand humanitarian and development assistance. The UK recently increased our health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and protection programming across northern Ethiopia, including in Tigray. Since 2019, the UK has allocated more than £400 million to tackle humanitarian crises in Ethiopia.

The former Foreign Secretary welcomed the November 2022 peace agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, when he visited Ethiopia in December 2022. Since then, the UK has welcomed progress on implementation such as the handing over of heavy weapons, the establishment of a Tigray Interim Regional Administration, and the development of a comprehensive transitional justice policy. We continue to offer the UK's support, including for the successful implementation of the transitional justice policy. HM Ambassador to Ethiopia last year announced funding for the African Union's monitoring, verification and compliance mechanism to support the implementation of the Pretoria peace deal. Ministers and the British Embassy Addis Ababa continue to raise the importance of this issue with interlocutors in the Ethiopian Government.

The former Foreign Secretary welcomed the November 2022 peace agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, when he visited Ethiopia in December 2022. There are no formal restrictions on internally displaced persons returning, however some areas of Tigray are under the control of regional militias or Eritrean forces. Ministers and the British Embassy Addis Ababa repeatedly raise the need for withdrawal of militias and foreign forces, including through a public statement in August 2023.

The UK is committed to protecting human rights in Ethiopia and across the globe. We continue to support the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. The UK also provides funding to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights independent monitoring of human rights in northern Ethiopian and our £4.5 million Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme (HARP) supports the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). We continue to emphasise the need for peaceful resolution of all conflicts in Ethiopia through inclusive, transparent dialogue.

The UK continues to ensure improved awareness of and response to the large-scale and country wide humanitarian needs. In particular the UK is monitoring upcoming climate outlooks and support planning for likely below average rains from June - September as well as El Nino conditions from June. The UK noted the report published by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in 2022 detailing widespread human rights violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict. The UK is committed to human rights being respected and those responsible for human rights abuses and violations being held to account. We continue to support the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. We are providing £4.5 million to help build the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through the UK's Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme.

The Foreign Secretary visited Ethiopia on 8 December 2022. He met with Prime Minister Abiy, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke and visited Afar where he saw UK supplied trucks about to deliver aid into Tigray. He welcomed the peace agreement signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). He told Prime Minister Abiy that Ethiopia could rely on the UK's full support on its path to recovery and reconciliation so long as the peace process makes progress. Our Ambassador in Addis Ababa has been in regular contact with the Ethiopian Government and the African Union to reinforce this message.

In early December, the Foreign Secretary visited Ethiopia and saw first-hand the effects of the humanitarian crisis that has been caused by conflict and severe drought, with an estimated 28.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023, including 5.4 million in Tigray. He saw the positive impact the UK is having, including mitigating the malnutrition crisis and the departure of UK-funded trucks to resupply parts of northern Ethiopia.

Over the last twenty months the UK has provided almost £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by the crises, including Tigray. This support has provided emergency health supplies for 1 million people. Through the recently announced package of £14 million humanitarian support, funding is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services across Ethiopia.

Although we have no estimation of the number of Eritrean troops in Tigray during these specific periods, or the number currently remaining, we reiterate our calls for Eritrean forces to leave. The November 2022 Pretoria and Nairobi peace agreements are contingent upon Eritrean troops pulling out of Tigray. Eritrea must not be a barrier to peace in northern Ethiopia or hinder humanitarian access going to those affected by the conflict.

We welcome the commitment made in the 2 November peace agreement by both the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front to unfettered humanitarian access to all parts of Tigray.

In the last nineteen months the UK has provided nearly £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by crises. This support has provided emergency health supplies for 1 million people across Ethiopia. Through the recently announced package of £14 million humanitarian support, funding is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services across Ethiopia including Tigray.

The humanitarian situation in Tigray remains very serious. According to the UN, approximately 5.4 million people require life-saving aid and hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine. The recent peace agreement between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) contained commitments to provide unfettered humanitarian access and the restoration of essential services. We welcome the early signs of progress, but humanitarian delivery needs to scale-up rapidly if it is to meet the desperate needs.

In the last eighteen months the UK has provided nearly £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by crises. This included the delivery of medical equipment to improve basic obstetric and neonatal care for 10 hospitals in Tigray, and providing capacity building on emergency obstetric and neonatal care for 120 health systems managers and frontline health workers in Tigray. We have also prioritised nutrition support for pregnant and lactating women and children under five in Tigray, given the strong link between undernutrition and maternal and child mortality.

Information on casualties from the conflict in northern Ethiopia is scarce. Since the resumption of fighting on 24 August it is likely that there have been thousands of casualties.

The UK welcomes the agreements signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on 2 November and 12 November. They provide for an end to two years of brutal conflict in northern Ethiopia. The UK calls upon the Eritrean Government to support the agreement by withdrawing its troops from Ethiopia.

We welcome the agreements signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on 2 November and 12 November. If implemented in full, they can serve as the basis for a lasting peace. However, it will require sustained and magnanimous leadership on all sides, and support from Ethiopia's friends across the international community. The UK Government has offered its support to the Ethiopian Government and the African Union.

The cessation of hostilities is largely holding and humanitarian convoys have begun entering Tigray. As of 24 November, an estimated 118 trucks in 12 convoys had reached Tigray. However, more needs to be done by both sides to ensure implementation of the agreement is sustained, essential services are restored and aid reaches the millions of people in desperate need.

We welcome the agreements signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on 2 November and 12 November. Along with other international partners, the UK has underlined to the Ethiopian Government and African Union its willingness to provide support to this process. In the last eighteen months the UK has provided almost £90 million to support vulnerable crisis-affected communities across Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and Somali regions. As part of this, the recently announced £14 million package of support is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services; 50,000 people with emergency financial support and 20,000 pupils with emergency education.

We welcome the recent agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front to end the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

We welcome the recent peace agreement between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The agreement provides for unfettered humanitarian access and for the resumption of essential basic services. In the last eighteen months the UK has provided almost £90 million of humanitarian support to people affected by crises throughout Ethiopia including in Tigray. The recently announced £14 million package of humanitarian funding will deliver support to 150,000 people in Tigray and other regions of Ethiopia.