Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 January 2021
392. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which the international community continues to focus on events in Ethiopia and the Sudan with particular reference to strife, human rights abuses and starvation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4187/21]
View answerIreland remains deeply concerned by the ongoing armed conflict between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the former regional authorities in Tigray, which began on 4 November. The conflict has had a devastating impact on the population of Tigray, and poses huge risks to the stability of the wider Horn of Africa region.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared the end of the offensive in Tigray following the taking of control of the regional capital, Mekelle, by Federal Government forces on 28 November 2020. However, the crisis is far from over.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) went into hiding and there are risks of a long-term insurgency, notwithstanding the recent high profile capturing and killing of some senior TPLF figures. There are also credible reports of atrocities, the killing of civilians and ethnic profiling, including outside Tigray. Communications with Tigray remain very difficult.
Prior to the outbreak of the current conflict, Tigray had been home to many refugees, displaced persons and local communities impacted by COVID-19, flooding and the desert locust invasion. The humanitarian situation has been greatly exacerbated by the current conflict. Access for humanitarians is severely constrained due to restrictions by the federal authorities and ongoing insecurity. Reports indicate food shortages are beginning to severely affect Tigray.
Credible reports of Eritrean military involvement in the Tigray conflict are a particular cause for concern, as are reports of grave mistreatment of Eritrean refugees within Tigray, strongly condemned by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The overflow of over 60,000 Ethiopian refugees into neighbouring Sudan, the rising tensions at the border between Ethiopia and Sudan, and tensions amongst ethnic groups which spill across Ethiopia’s borders into other countries in the region, mean that the conflict risks further destabilising the wider Horn of Africa. The escalation of tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan is also negatively impacting the already stalled African Union-led trilateral negotiations with Egypt on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Ireland is actively supporting the efforts of the EU, UN and wider international community to address the crisis, including through engagement with the African Union. We are strongly supportive of regional efforts to try to find a resolution to the conflict, however progress has been limited to date.
In contacts with key interlocutors, Minister Coveney has called on all parties to cease hostilities, respect international humanitarian law and begin dialogue, as well as for immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to affected areas. He has condemned reported atrocities and identity-based attacks, and has called for the human rights of all Ethiopians to be upheld. The Minister continues to engage with regional actors in this regard, including in Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Pretoria, and through our membership of the European Union.
Ireland fully supports the statement by HRVP Borrell on 25 December on behalf of all EU Member States, which reiterated the EU’s deep concern at the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, stressed the need to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law, and encouraged all parties to end the conflict and establish dialogue.
My Department has provided over €2.6 million to date to support the humanitarian response to the Tigray crisis. This includes €1.4 million to Irish NGOs within Tigray, €500,000 to the UN refugee agency to support the refugee response in neighbouring Sudan, and almost €750,000 towards humanitarian stocks, and supports for the protection of women and girls.
In the context of our membership of the UN Security Council, Ireland will continue to advocate for an urgent response to the humanitarian situation, and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
