Claim Of Ethiopia’s Crime Against Humanity Exposed in UN Report
On Monday, September 19, UN investigators stated that they believed Ethiopia’s government was behind the current crimes against humanity in Tigray and that resumption of hostilities there has made the risk of “further atrocity crimes” become greater.
On Monday, a rebel spokesman said that Tigrayan authorities “have long maintained” that the Ethiopian government is responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Tigray.
The experts gave a comprehensive list of atrocities that range from intentional hunger and rape accompanied by sexual violence to extrajudicial killings.
They particularly emphasised the situation in Tigray, in which the government and its allies have been denied access to basic services like banking and internet for more than one year.
90% of Tigray’s population is in serious need of assistance as a result of the intense regulations on humanitarian access.
The commission stated that since the fighting started almost two years ago, it had discovered evidence of a vast range of violations carried out by the whole parties in the country, among forces dedicated to TPLF and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Since the beginning of the conflict in November 2020, many have been forced from their homes, and thousands have died as the conflict extends from Tigray to neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.
“Immediately restore essential services and ensure full and unfettered humanitarian access,” Murungi requested of the administration. She equally encouraged Tigrayan forces to “ensure that humanitarian agencies can operate freely.”
A truce in March increased hopes for a peaceful settlement of the war. Those hopes were lost when fighting resumed last month.
A report that is scheduled to be presented on September 22 to the UN Human Rights Council made several recommendations which include that all parties to the conflict instantly cease hostilities and violations, both those that may amount to crimes against humanity or to war crimes.
Its request is that the UN Human Rights Office carry out “full monitoring” of the circumstances in Ethiopia and urges Tigray authorities, the Ethiopian government, and its Eritrean ally to conduct an investigation and prosecute all perpetrators of abuses.
