Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the Ethiopian government’s commitment to extending political rights and (b) the effect of UK aid in encouraging extension of those rights.

Grant Shapps

Our aid relationship with any government is based on an assessment of commitment to our partnership principles, including to human rights and international obligations. DFID works closely with FCO to conduct regular assessments of the Government of Ethiopia’s commitment to political rights.

In light of the results of parliamentary elections this year, the UK is encouraging Ethiopia to find ways to increase the diversity of political parties in future parliaments, and to ensure those who voted for other parties still feel their voices are being heard.

The UK has a number of programmes that support civil and political rights in Ethiopia, including a DFID civil society support programme, and a joint programme with the FCO to support strengthening in democratic governance.

Ethiopia remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with around 25 million people living in extreme poverty. In the last five years, with UK support, Ethiopia has reduced child mortality by a quarter, put four million more children in primary school and protected almost eight million people from needing humanitarian food aid.