Voice of America
23 Sep 2022, 04:05 GMT+10
GENEVA - U.N. investigators are accusing the Ethiopian government of committing serious violations in the Tigray region which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia submitted its first report Thursday to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The three-member Commission says widespread, horrific acts of violence have been committed since fighting in Ethiopia's northern Tigray province broke out in November 2020.
It finds neither the government nor the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front has clean hands. However, it notes the government is responsible for most of the atrocities documented in the report, adding that some of these crimes are ongoing.
The investigators blame the government for the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray. The Commission chair, Kaari Betty Murungi, said the federal government and its allies have looted and destroyed goods indispensable for the survival of the civilian population.
She added these and other tactics have left 90 percent of the population in desperate need of assistance.
'We have reasonable grounds to believe that the widespread denial and obstruction of access to basic services, food, health care, and humanitarian assistance amounts to the crime against humanity of persecution and inhumane acts,' Murungi said. 'We also have reasonable grounds to believe that the federal government is committing the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare.'
Murungi noted the Commission also has received information indicating that Tigrayan forces have looted or otherwise misappropriated humanitarian aid.
She said there are reasonable grounds to believe the Ethiopian Air Force has committed war crimes, including intentional attacks against civilians and the use of armed drones against civilian targets, causing many civilian deaths and injuries.
'The Commission also found that rape and crimes of sexual violence have been perpetrated on a staggering scale since the conflict began, with Ethiopian and Eritrean forces and regional militias targeting Tigrayan women and girls with particular violence and brutality,' Murungi said. 'At times their attackers used dehumanizing language that suggested an intent to destroy Tigrayan ethnicity.'
The Commission said the Tigrayan forces also have committed serious human rights abuses, some of which amount to war crimes. It accused the forces of large-scale killings of Amhara civilians, rape and sexual violence, and widespread looting and destruction of property.
The Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Zenebe Kebede, said the allegations in the report were unsubstantiated, selective, discriminatory, and politically motivated.
He said Ethiopia is committed to peacefully resolving the conflict in Tigray under the auspices of the African Union. He called on members of the Human Rights Council to reject the report and not to extend the mandate of the Commission.
Get a daily dose of Kenya Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kenya Star.
More InformationAlexander Dyukov has revealed Russia's football exile might end before the next World CupAlexander Dyukov, the president of the Russian ...
The country will receive a free delivery of wheat flour, Moscow's envoy has saidRussia has sent food aid to the ...
NEW YORK, 22nd September, 2023 (WAM) -- Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, and Omar Sultan Al ...
© Provided by Xinhua Rwanda has hailed Wednesday's recognition of the country's four genocide memorial sites on the World Heritage ...
New York [US], September 22 (ANI): India has reiterated its demand for expansion of the United Nations Security Council stating ...
WASHINGTON - At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Kenyan President William Ruto reiterated the country's commitment to ...
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's imprisoned former leader, suffers from low blood pressure symptoms such as dizziness ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - In a tragic incident that shook the Rohingya camp at Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar, a group of ...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - On Monday, Pakistan's Chief Justice (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa vowed to ensure accountability and transparency, saying he ...
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], September 22 (ANI): On the occasion of World Car Free Day, Indore observed No Car Day ...
SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Thursday announced the government will conduct a yearlong inquiry into the country's approach ...
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday said it was formally launching two new U.S.-China working groups on economic ...