Human rights violations continue in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, more than 10 months after a ceasefire officially ended the bloody civil war, experts say of ONU.
The latest report from the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said the country’s government was failing to protect its citizens from “serious and continuing” human rights violations. crimes committed by Eritrean militias and troops, who fought alongside the Ethiopian Federal Army and remain in Ethiopia. border areas of Tigray.
These human rights violations include sexual and gender-based violence “encouraged or tolerated” by the Ethiopian government, according to the report released Monday.
He said the “transitional justice” process launched by the Ethiopian government did not meet international standards and expressed concern over the recent increase in violence in Oromia and Amhara, the two most populous regions. from Ethiopia.
The failure to implement a meaningful judicial process fosters a culture of impunity and increases the risk of future atrocities, said the experts, who noted an increase in online hate speech in Ethiopia against ethnic and political groups and LGBT people.
“The conflict in Tigray, which remains unresolved by comprehensive peace, continues to produce misery,” the report said.
“Equally alarming, hostilities in Ethiopia are now nationwide, with significant violations particularly in the Amhara region, but also in Oromia and elsewhere.
“The risk to the state, as well as to regional stability and the enjoyment of human rights in East Africa, cannot be overstated,” he said.
The Tigray conflict, which erupted in November 2020 and spread to other parts of Ethiopia, was one of the bloodiest in recent times. It is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of people and was characterized by massacres and rape.
About 5.4 million of Tigray’s 6 million people still rely on humanitarian aid, although food aid to the war-ravaged region has been suspended since mid-March, after the discovery of a vast national plan put in place by officials to steal donated grain. Food aid to the whole of Ethiopia has been suspended since June.
A previous report by the United Nations human rights body found that all sides committed violations during the war, many of which amounted to war crimes. He also concluded that the government had used hunger as a weapon.
An Ethiopian government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the latest report. Ethiopian officials have already denounced the U.N. commission as politically motivated, blocked its investigators and attempted to block it.
The commission’s mandate expires in December. It is unclear whether the UN Human Rights Council will renew it for another year during its current session, which lasts until October 6.
The United States and European Union suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ethiopia during the war, citing human rights abuses. They said accountability for these crimes was a prerequisite for restoring that support and normalizing relations.
The United States has also imposed sanctions on those involved in abuses, which were renewed this month by President Joe Biden.
There are fears, however, that European officials are abandoning their demands for accountability and not calling for the renewal of the UN human rights commission. The bloc wants to strengthen its diplomatic relations with Ethiopia after the war in Ukraine reignited the struggle for influence in Africa between Russia and the West.
theguardian