Submitted by Tigrayans Worldwide and Supporters of Justice and Accountability
Date: January 19, 2026
PREAMBLE
We, the undersigned Tigrayans and supporters of Tigray worldwide, united in our commitment to justice, accountability, and human dignity, submit this petition to express our profound concern, condemnation, and deep disappointment over Ambassador Ervin Massinga’s visit to Humera, Western Tigray, on January 15, 2026, and the statements that followed. 
By willfully disregarding the well-documented reality that the people of Tigray have endured genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement, and crimes against humanity, the Ambassador’s visit demonstrated neither a genuine intent to advance peace nor a credible commitment to identifying or addressing the root causes of the crisis. To the contrary, the visit materially undermined the rights, dignity, and lawful claims of the people of Tigray, while lending implicit legitimacy to ongoing injustice and impunity.
The Ambassador should have discharged his duty of due diligence before engaging in this highly sensitive matter. This required a careful analysis of Ethiopia’s constitutional provisions and read independent historical literatures reviewed and authored by renowned historians regarding the lawful status of the areas he visited. Instead, he comported himself as a passive consumer of distorted narratives and orchestrated falsehoods conveyed through pre-scripted briefings and PowerPoint presentations.
For this reason, such diplomatic conduct must be condemned in the strongest and most unequivocal terms. The Ambassador’s visit constitutes a serious departure from constitutionally established principles and materially undermines efforts to achieve peace grounded in justice and accountability.
Silence or inaction in response is neither neutral nor benign. It compounds harm, erodes the credibility of international commitments, and inflicts further injury upon an already victimized civilian population.
STATEMENT OF FACTS AND CONCERNS
Legitimization of Perpetrators of Genocide 
By meeting with, engaging, and participating in a ceremonial public reception organized and attended by individuals who have been unequivocally identified and extensively documented as perpetrators of ethnic cleansing, mass killings, crimes of genocide, and crimes against humanity in Western Tigray, the Ambassador’s visit amounted to implicit legitimization of criminal actors.
These crimes are neither speculative nor disputed. They have been thoroughly documented by the United States Government, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and numerous reputable international media outlets.
Undermining the Pretoria Agreement and the Tigray Interim Administration
The Ambassador’s public engagement with officials installed by the Amhara regional government—particularly administrators imposed through force, ethnic cleansing, and demographic engineering—directly undermined the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray and violated both the spirit and intent of the Pretoria Agreement. Furthermore, this engagement contradicts the U.S.’s commitment to constitutional order, accountability, and the protection of victims of mass atrocities.
Failure to Demand Withdrawal and Protection of Civilians
Given the Ambassador’s position and the immense moral and political weight of the United States, it was incumbent upon him to demand the immediate withdrawal of occupying forces from Western Tigray and to press for concrete, enforceable measures guaranteeing the safe, dignified, and unconditional return of all internally displaced persons and refugees. Instead, the Ambassador chose political expediency over principle, turning away from millions of displaced Tigrayans who continue to languish in inhumane conditions marked by starvation and the absence of medical care. Rather than protecting victims, his visit conferred diplomatic legitimacy on the very perpetrators responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing—allowing them to benefit from his engagement while IDPs and refugees remain abandoned.
Erasure of Identity and Legal Status of Displaced Tigrayans
Following the visit, the Ambassador publicly reported that perpetrators of ethnic cleansing stated they would continue working with General Tadesse Werede, Tigray’s interim Administrator, on the so-called “return of the people,” cynically referring to displaced Tigrayans as “people whose origin is the Humera zone.” This framing is not accidental. It deliberately avoids recognizing these individuals as internally displaced persons or refugees, thereby erasing their legal status under international humanitarian and human rights law and minimizing the severity of their forcible displacement. By adopting and amplifying this language, the Ambassador obscured responsibility for the crimes committed, normalized ethnic cleansing, and implicitly endorsed a narrative designed to legitimize illegal occupation and demographic engineering.
The Ambassador’s visit to Humera conveyed—whether intended or not—that crimes can be rewarded with recognition and that constitutional violations can be sanitized through diplomatic protocol. This undermines not only the credibility of U.S. policy in Ethiopia, but the universal values of justice, accountability, and human dignity.
Adoption of Occupiers’ Terminology
The Ambassador avoided referring to the area by its lawful and constitutional name—Western Tigray Zone—instead adopting the occupiers’ imposed terminology of the so-called “Humera Zone.” This choice erases identity, obscures responsibility, legitimizes unlawful occupation, and aligns with the narrative of those responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans.
Normalization of Ongoing Atrocities
The individuals engaged by the Ambassador continue to terrorize, torture, kill, kidnap, and forcibly re-displace Tigrayans who attempt to return to their homes in areas such as Tselemti and who refuse to abandon their identity. Any claims of gradual return are performative and deceptive, intended to mask a strategy of permanent demographic cleansing.
Contradiction Between Diplomatic Rhetoric and Action
While U.S. diplomatic statements call on “all actors to put people first, above politics,” the Ambassador’s actions in Humera did precisely the opposite—standing beside those who orchestrated mass civilian expulsion while bypassing the legitimate Tigray administration. One cannot credibly advocate civilian protection while engaging those responsible for civilian destruction.
Humanitarian Framing Detached from Justice
Acknowledging humanitarian suffering while refusing to confront its root cause—the ongoing illegal occupation of Western Tigray and the exclusion of its rightful population—risks normalizing atrocity rather than remedying it.
Illegitimacy of Any Process Conducted Under Ethnic Cleansing
Support for any so-called “Ethiopian-led, UN-backed process” is meaningless while displaced Tigrayans are denied the right to return and freely determine their political future. Any process conducted under conditions of ethnic cleansing and demographic engineering lacks legitimacy and moral standing.
We, therefore, demand that:
1) The Ambassador must publicly and unequivocally affirm that Western Tigray is an integral and constitutional part of Tigray. Any diplomatic engagement with actors imposed through ethnic cleansing and force is illegitimate and must cease.
2) We call for immediate course correction and principled engagement rooted in truth, law, and justice. Any genuine diplomatic engagement should focus on demanding the immediate and verifiable withdrawal of occupying forces from Western Tigray and immediate steps be taken to ensure the safe, dignified, and unconditional return of all displaced Tigrayans. 
3) The Ambassador must demonstrate principled diplomacy by strictly adhering to and prioritizing the United States’ inalienable policy of accountability for atrocity crimes, including ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Any diplomatic language or engagement that erases identity, obscures responsibility, or normalizes illegal occupation must be explicitly rejected.
CONCLUSION
The Ambassador’s visit to Humera conveyed—whether intended or not—that crimes can be rewarded with recognition and that constitutional violations can be sanitized through diplomatic protocol. This undermines not only the credibility of U.S. policy, but the universal values of justice, accountability, and human dignity.
Diplomacy carries responsibility. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity. Engagement without accountability is endorsement.
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