Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL183):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current state of the truce between armed groups within Tigray and the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia; and what steps they plan to take, if any, to increase pressure on the government of Eritrea to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia. (HL183)
Tabled on: 12 May 2022
Answer:
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park:
We welcome the truce between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and their commitment to scale-up the delivery of life-saving aid to Tigray. It is imperative that access is facilitated without delay. The UK is committed to working with the Government of Ethiopia and authorities in Afar and Tigray to expand aid deliveries to areas affected by the conflict and to promote long-term peace and security. We encourage the TPLF to engage constructively with the Government of Ethiopia for the good of civilians across the region. A return to conflict would have devastating impacts.
Troops from Eritrea have caused significant suffering in Tigray and they have committed abuses which may constitute war crimes. Eritrean troops should withdraw fully from Ethiopia. The UK’s Ambassador in Asmara has underlined this point to the Government of Eritrea.
Date and time of answer: 24 May 2022 at 15:02.
