Washington: An international investigation by various countries of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission found evidence of serious abuses, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity in conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, conducted the investigation to probe the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia between November 3, 2020, and June 28, 2021.
“Notwithstanding the considerable challenges faced in gaining access to places, people and documentation, we commend OHCHR and EHRC for their impartial and transparent work. We also underscore the value of the investigation’s collection and documentation of human rights abuses and violations, and violations of international humanitarian law, for the purpose of supporting justice and accountability on behalf of victims and survivors. We underscore the concern expressed by High Commissioner Bachelet regarding continued restrictions on access for humanitarian organizations,” they said in a statement.
The report demonstrates the need for further investigations into abuses and violations documented in the report as well as into allegations arising since June 28, 2021. The findings of the investigation included in the joint report are grave, and there are reasonable grounds to believe that abuses and violations of human rights, and violations of international humanitarian law, such as those involving attacks on civilians and civilian objects, unlawful or extra-judicial killings and executions, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, abductions and enforced disappearances, and sexual and gender-based violence, have taken place. The authors of the report conclude that some of these violations and abuses may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. These acts have resulted in suffering and distress as well as an atmosphere of terror and widespread fear among the civilian population. The report highlights widespread impunity for those responsible for these acts and lack of access to support for those who have been targeted, as well as for witnesses.
“The findings in the report make it abundantly clear that, as the war in northern Ethiopia rages on, the human toll of the conflict will continue to mount, not only through the conflict but also through starvation. As the risk of further atrocities increases, we call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, end impunity for attacks on humanitarian personnel, and cease other actions that continue to hinder the delivery of urgent life-saving assistance to the people impacted,” the statement said.