Foreign Affairs committee  Canada has called for investigation of the atrocities regardless of who has committed them, and Canada has participated with the international community in calling for Eritrea to leave, via that human rights statement, which was led by Germany. This is a very dynamic situation.

Foreign Affairs committee  Up to now, I think that Prime Minister Abiy had not said that. The fact that he is now saying it we see as a positive step.

Foreign Affairs committee  Canada has, through the human rights statement, expressed that. In conversations between ministers and with officials, the presence of Eritreans in Ethiopia has been discussed, and I think now it is very clear that the Eritreans are there. I think there is—

Foreign Affairs committee  I do think that Canada has been calling for an independent and impartial investigation of the allegations of atrocity crimes by all...but I'll ask Ian if he would like to say anything more on this.

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, Canada does not provide its direct budget support to the Government of Ethiopia. It provides its international assistance to trusted international partners, such as the World Bank, and other partners, such as the ones that Tara was referring to. The money itself is goi

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, Canada has been speaking out about what has been happening in the conflict right from the very first moment and has been working very closely with the international community to coordinate messaging, as an example, through the human rights statement that called upon th

Foreign Affairs committee  I think this illustrates the need for an independent and credible investigation into the alleged crimes. While we have seen increased access recently, which is [Technical difficulty—Editor] looking for, it is clear that more needs to be done. Canada has been trying to engage with

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, just on the question of international assistance, while it's true that Ethiopia, compared to other African countries, prior to the pandemic had been doing relatively well economically, the needs in that country, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable and for

Foreign Affairs committee  Tara, do you want to go ahead?

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, the Ethiopian prime minister has publicly welcomed international assistance and collaboration to investigate these allegations. As I said, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has also signalled its willingness to collaborate with relevant human rights agencies for th

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, for the questions around humanitarian assistance, I can turn to Tara.

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, it's a very good question. As we have been receiving more information as this crisis has unfolded, we are learning more about Eritrea and its involvement. We saw just a couple of days ago that Prime Minister Abiy himself was recognizing that Eritrea is there. There ar

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, that is something that Canada and, I think, the international community as a whole are concerned about, the regional impacts in terms of not only Ethiopia, but also Somalia and Sudan. There are border tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan, so it's really one of the reaso

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has begun investigations, has issued a report and has indicated its desire and commitment to investigating further allegations of atrocities, and has also reached out to the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for assi

Foreign Affairs committee  Okay. I'll just cut to the end. Ministers, including Minister Champagne, Minister Gould, Minister Garneau and the Prime Minister, have communicated our concerns directly to Ethiopian authorities at the highest levels. In these discussions, ministers have emphasized the importa