HC Deb 10 March 1989 vol 148 c1W
Mr. Faulds

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to evidence of genocide by the Ethiopian Government, in deciding whether to continue aid to Ethiopia through Lomé III and IV.

Mr. Chris Patten

The human rights situation in Ethiopia is of serious concern to Her Majesty's Government but suspending the aid provided under the Lomé convention—which is going principally to finance the development of peasant agriculture and helps to reduce the underlying risk of famine—would hurt the poorest sections of the population. What the European Community is doing, and must continue to do, is to ensure that the aid supports more sensible policies and that it reaches those for whom it is intended.

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