Ethiopia: IBAHRI calls for urgent action as atrocities and breaches of international law persist in Tigray
Marking five years since the outbreak of war in Tigray, Ethiopia in November 2020, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has joined a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in issuing a joint letter expressing grave concern that atrocities – including mass rape, forced pregnancy, sexual torture, sexual slavery and deliberate starvation – in Ethiopia continue unabated despite the 2022 Pretoria Agreement.
The IBAHRI and partners urge the international community to renew independent monitoring, ensure humanitarian access and pursue accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Mark Stephens CBE, IBAHRI Co-Chair, commented, ‘Violence, displacement and widespread rights violations continue to devastate Ethiopia even though a formal ceasefire is meant to be in place. The closure of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia [ICHREE] has left a dangerous vacuum in oversight. The international community must act now to re-establish credible monitoring and justice mechanisms before another generation suffers irreparable harm.’
The Tigray War ranks among the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century, with estimated death tolls ranging from 600,000 to 800,000. By December 2022, starvation-related deaths were estimated to have reached between 96,000 and 218,000. By 2023, around 19.7 million people in Ethiopia were reported to be facing high levels of acute food insecurity and widespread disease outbreaks amid restricted aid access.
In the joint appeal, the IBAHRI calls on states, the United Nations and regional organisations to take urgent and concrete measures, including to:
- renew and support independent monitoring: reinstate and strengthen impartial international mechanisms to document ongoing violations in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and beyond;
- strengthen civilian protection: expand humanitarian access and protection strategies ensuring life-saving aid reaches all affected populations without delay or obstruction;
- ensure unhindered humanitarian access and protection for internally displaced persons (IDPs): invest in durable solutions for IDPs across the country including safe return and access to essential services, grounded in human rights;
- guarantee survivor-centred justice mechanisms: prioritise justice processes that centre the rights and needs of victims and survivors, ensuring inclusive, independent mechanisms for truth-telling, reparations and psychosocial support;
- pursue accountability at multiple levels: support international or hybrid justice processes capable of prosecuting atrocity crimes, including through universal jurisdiction, while bolstering Ethiopia’s capacity for independent investigations and trials; and
- protect human rights defenders (HRDs), civil society and the media: defend the rights of local HRDs, independent journalists and civil society organisations to document abuses, advocate for survivors and hold all actors accountable.
The ICHREE was the last remaining independent and credible investigative mechanism in Ethiopia and was critical for the international monitoring of the crisis. Its final report of October 2023 presented a detailed account of the atrocities which amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. The report stated that the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Eritrean Defence Forces and allied regional special forces and militias were collectively responsible for the atrocities. As the Commission was closed prematurely only two years after its establishment, it could not finish its work and make determinations of these crimes.
Hina Jilani, IBAHRI Co-Chair, stated, ‘Impunity cannot become Ethiopia’s legacy. Survivors of sexual torture, displacement and starvation deserve more than words of concern. They need justice, protection, and a sustained international response grounded in law and accountability.’
Despite all the evidence, impunity for human rights abuses remain the norm. While the government has developed a transitional justice policy, accountability efforts for past and ongoing abuses have been inadequate and lack transparency and independent oversight.
ENDS
Contact: IBAHRI@int-bar.org
Notes to the Editor
- Background to the Tigray war.
The Tigray War erupted in 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali declared war on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which challenged the government’s authority from the northern region of the country. Violence spread rapidly as Amhara militias and Eritrean troops engaged in ongoing violations. While in November 2022 both parties agreed to a ceasefire via the Pretoria Agreement, atrocities continue to be committed. Read more
- The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), established in 1995 under Founding Honorary President Nelson Mandela, is an autonomous entity working to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.
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- The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, with the aim of protecting and promoting the rule of law globally, the IBA was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
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Website page link for this news release:
Short link: tinyurl.com/y8hpb42a
Full link: www.ibanet.org/Ethiopia-IBAHRI-calls-for-urgent-action-as-atrocities-and-breaches-of-international-law-persist-in-Tigray