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News: UN Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia brief UNSC A3 group on “alarming abuses against civilians”

ICHREE Commissioners Kaari Betty Murungi (Chair), Steven Ratner and Radhika Coomaraswamy meeting the UNSC A3. Picture: Kenya PR to UN


Addis Ababa: Representatives of the the UN Security Council A3 member states, namely Gabon, Ghana and Kenya, met on Tuesday with the Commissioners of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and were briefed about “the alarming abuses against civilians” reported to the UN Human Rights Council in both “situations,” according to the Permanent Mission of Kenya to the UN.

The briefing by the ICHREE Commissioners to the UNSC A3 group comes less than a week after the African group requested for a meeting at the Security Council to discuss the deepening crisis in Ethiopia. Following the request the UN security council convened on Friday 21 October but failed to issue a statement calling for, among others, immediate cessation of hostilities. But individual member states of the security council including the US and Ireland issued separate statements after the meeting calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of Eritrean forces and access to humanitarian supplies to Tigray and return to AU-led peace talks. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the Africa group are expected to request for another meeting by the Security Council.

It is to be recalled that the ICHREE released its first report last September in which it said there were reasonable grounds to believe that “war crimes and crimes against humanity” have been committed in Ethiopia’s two years war, and that Tigray has been “systematically” deprived of material, services “indispensable” for survival.

The Commission’s report said the violations were committed to a varied degree by the Ethiopian national defense forces, Eritrean defense forces, Amhara regional state forces including the militia and the irregular armed group, Fano, and the Tigrayan forces.

Ethiopia rejected the report saying that the commission is “politically motivated” and its conclusions were “unprofessional and biased.”

The UN has recently extended the Commission’s mandate by one more year. AS

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