The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Ethiopia “will not cooperate with the established mechanism imposed against its consent.”
The Government of Ethiopia today rejected the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council to create a commission to investigate possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all parties in the conflict between the central Executive and the rebels in the region of Tiger.
In a statement, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Ethiopia “will not cooperate with the established mechanism imposed against its consent.”
“This action by some in the Council is an attempt to find an alternative way to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and serves nothing more than to exacerbate the situation on the ground,” the Ethiopian government stated.
For this reason, Ethiopia “categorically” rejected the “politically motivated” result of the special session held today in Geneva by the UN Human Rights Council on the war in this country in the Horn of Africa.
That result, he emphasized, “undermines confidence in the work of the Council and, more importantly, the territorial integrity, national sovereignty and political independence of Ethiopia.
“No more double standards. No more unilateral coercive measures. And no more meddling in internal affairs under the pretext of human rights,” added the Ethiopian Executive.
The resolution, which condemns “human rights violations and abuses committed in northern Ethiopia by all parties since the beginning of the conflict on November 3, 2020,” was approved with 21 votes in favor, 15 against and 11 abstentions.
Among others, the countries of the Council that were members of the EU, who called the emergency session on Ethiopia and drafted the draft resolution, voted in favor, while China, Cuba, Eritrea, Russia and Venezuela voted against.
The resolution urges all parties to the conflict to stop attacks on civilians, to lift obstacles to the arrival of humanitarian aid and to negotiate a ceasefire.
The commission of inquiry established by the Council will have a mandate of one year.It will be made up of three experts and will have the mission of investigating human rights violations in the conflict.
War broke out on November 4, 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an offensive against the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigré (FPLT), the ruling party until then in the northern region, in retaliation for an attack on a federal military base and after an escalation of political tensions.
According to the UN, thousands of people have died and some two million have had to leave their homes in Tigré due to the violence.
Also, about 9.4 million people they need humanitarian aid in northern Ethiopia due to war, according to the World Food Program (WFP). (I)
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