Ethiopia PQ Responses

​To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps Ireland is taking to encourage Ethiopia to lift the state of emergency and to encourage the Ethiopian government to address the grievances of protesters; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Darragh O'Brien.
* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 21st March, 2017.
Ref No: 13446/17

REPLY
(Minister of State, Mr. Joe McHugh T.D.)
We have been following the situation in Ethiopia closely, and with concern, since the declaration of a state of emergency in October last.  Ireland and Ethiopia have developed a strong bilateral relationship since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1994.   Ethiopia is one of Ireland’s key partner countries for development cooperation, and we have developed strong political and economic relations. We provided over €29 million through our bilateral development programme to Ethiopia in 2016. Ireland’s humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia amounted to a further €6.65 million in 2016.   
Our Embassy in Addis Ababa has been monitoring the situation closely since public demonstrations and protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions took place in late 2015. The protests grew in scope and scale throughout 2016 and culminated in violent clashes between protestors and security forces. Following an incident resulting in the deaths of at least 52 protesters, the Ethiopian Government declared a state of emergency on 9 October 2016.  While it appears to have restored calm to the regions where protests took place, this has been accompanied by worrying reports regarding the high levels of detention and a tense human rights environment. 
Our Embassy in Addis Ababa engages regularly with the Ethiopian Government to express our concern at these political developments, and to encourage the Government to address the underlying causes of discontent. Ireland, with our EU partners, will continue this active dialogue with the Ethiopian Government and will continue to encourage the Government to engage with civil society and other political actors in Ethiopia. 
Ireland has also raised concerns relating to the state of emergency at the Human Rights Council on 15 March 2017, expressing concern at the large number of arrests and detention of protestors. This followed our statement at the Human Rights Council in September 2016, supporting the call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for an independent, impartial and international human rights assessment of the Government’s response to the protests which led to the introduction of the state of emergency. The EU has also engaged with the Ethiopian Government and raised concerns. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Federica Mogherini, spoke with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister in October 2016 and expressed her concern about the possible effect on democratic principles and civil rights of Ethiopian citizens. 

On the 15 March, the Government of Ethiopia announced that there would be a partial lifting of the state of emergency, stating that arrests without court orders and searches without court papers will stop. The Government also announced that restrictions imposed on radio, television and theatre and dawn-to dusk prohibitions on unauthorised movements around infrastructure facilities and factories have been repealed.
Our Embassy in Addis Ababa will continue to monitor the situation closely, and engage regularly with the Ethiopian Government.


 



Question No. 595
Parliamentary Question - Oireachtas

To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action he is taking to ensure that development assistance is reaching the most vulnerable Ethiopians, regardless of their political affiliation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Darragh O'Brien.
* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 21st March, 2017.
Ref No: 13447/17

REPLY
(Minister of State, Mr. Joe McHugh, T.D.)
Ethiopia has been a key partner country for Ireland’s development assistance since 1994.  Our assistance has at all times been focused on the most vulnerable people and communities in the country, regardless of their political views or affiliation.  Last year, we provided some €29 million in long term development assistance in Ethiopia and a further €6.65 million in humanitarian assistance.
In designing and implementing Ireland’s development assistance, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Embassy in Addis Ababa work in close consultation with Government and local authorities in Ethiopia and with local communities and civil society.  
A central element of Ireland’s assistance is the Productive Safety Net Programme, which provides food and cash transfers to vulnerable people, on the basis of objective criteria, developed to ensure that those suffering from chronic hunger are reached.  It is closely monitored to ensure that it reaches those most in need and is not subject to political interference.  
Our programme aims to build the resilience of Ethiopia’s poorest households, including through access to drought-tolerant, high-yielding seeds for small holder farmers and working to ensure that women and children have improved nutrition.  We work closely with civil society organisations to promote education for minority groups, tackle violence against women and girls. As part of its work with civil society, Ireland is encouraging organisations and support vulnerable citizens, including people with disabilities to argue for and access quality services.   
Ethiopia suffers from cyclical droughts and chronic food insecurity.  The Government of Ethiopia has developed an impressive capacity to respond to climatic events, but still, last year, some 10.2 million people required and received emergency food assistance.  In addition to these challenges, Ethiopia is hosting one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, with almost 800,000 refugees in need of annual humanitarian assistance.
In addition to our financial assistance, since the onset of the El Nino climate effect, in 2015, six members of the Irish Aid Rapid Response Corps have been deployed to Ethiopia to work with UN response operations. Three of these responders were deployed in recent weeks.  We have also airlifted 30 tonnes of emergency relief supplies for distribution to those most in need. We are keeping the situation under close review and I expect that it will be necessary to provide further humanitarian support to Ethiopia in the coming period.