On 17th December 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN-HRC) held a special session in Geneva regarding the conflict in Ethiopia. This meeting, held in the absence of an Ethiopian representative, passed a resolution to conduct what it termed "a thorough and impartial investigation" into the allegations of human rights abuses in the region. 

However, it is important to note that the UN-HRC special session completely disregarded the joint investigation already carried out by the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. Whilst the findings of the joint report have been accepted and its recommendations adopted by the Ethiopian government, the UN-HRC failed to hold the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) accountable for its actions in the conflict. These include:  

·      Attacking the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) on 4th November 2020, subsequently leading to the start of the conflict. Soldiers who were loyal to TPLF in the federal army massacred their own comrades in arms; an act that was described by the report as “ treason of the highest order”.

·      Ethnic-based killings of more than two hundred Amharas in Maikadra by the Samri youth group, the Tigrayan police and militia on 9th November 2020. 

·     The expansion of the conflict into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar by the Tigrayan forces, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

Reports have also started to emerge regarding ethnically motivated attacks by TPLF in occupied towns, including in Nifas Mewcha, Chenna, Kobo, and in large cities such as Kombolcha and Dessie. The Tigrayan forces in these areas have committed extrajudicial killings, rape, industry scale destruction and looting. This is in addition to the countless media reports of child soldiers being used by TPLF as human shields during the hostilities, plus an acknowledgement by the Mission Director of USAID (Sean Jones) that TPLF were responsible for the looting of their food stores in the invaded regions of Amhara and Afar. 

The investigation proposed by the HRC is a political manoeuvre to discredit the conclusions of the joint report and to divert attention away from the war crimes committed by TPLF. We demand that the HRC accepts the findings of the ongoing OHCHR/EHRC investigation and take steps to ensure that TPLF are brought to justice for their crimes against humanity.

Ethiopian Diaspora Alliance – UK

Sources:

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/ET/OHCHR-EHRC-Tigray-Report.pdf​

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/10/ethiopia-tigray-forces-summarily-execute-civilians​

https://et.usembassy.gov/sean-jones-usaid-ethiopia-mission-director-interview-with-ethiopian-broadcasting-corporation-ebc/​

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/ethiopia-survivors-of-tplf-attack-in-amhara-describe-gang-rape-looting-and-physical-assaults/