The United Nations and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (ECHR) have reached an agreement to conduct a joint investigation into human rights violations allegedly committed “by all parties” in the context of the conflict in the Tigray region (north).
The ECHR and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have indicated in a statement that this inquiry “is part of the much-needed accountability process for the victims” and stressed that they “have been closely following” the situation since the beginning of the conflict in November 2020.
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“Both organizations are concerned about reports of serious human rights violations and abuses and the devastating impact of the conflict on the civilian population,” they said, before stressing that “an objective and independent investigation is urgently needed.”
They stated that the collaboration agreement “is the result of the partnership and contacts between the two organizations” and added that the deployment of the investigative team will take place “as soon as possible and for an initial period of three months”.
The statement was released a day after the non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced “extrajudicial killings” witnessed by its staff in the Tigray region, the scene since November of an offensive by the Ethiopian Army against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
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The EHRC itself on Wednesday accused Eritrean soldiers of being behind the killing of more than 100 civilians in the town of Axum as part of the offensive against the TPLF, which then ruled the Tigray region.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time the entry of Eritrean forces to support the Ethiopian Army in the offensive, while saying he has spoken to the Asmara authorities about the allegations against their soldiers, without giving further details.
The offensive was launched on Nov. 4 by order of the prime minister in response to a TPLF attack on an army base in the regional capital, which resulted in the death of a large number of Ethiopian military personnel, following months of tensions between the party and the central government.
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