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EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation

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One of the civilian victims of the Togoga airstrike[1]

The EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation is a human rights investigation launched jointly by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in mid-2021 into human rights violations of the Tigray War that started in November 2020.[2][3][4]

Background

Main article: war crimes in the Tigray War

Human rights violations in the Tigray War that started in November 2020 were widely viewed as war crimes[5][6][7] including systematic sexual violence, possibly amounting to rape as a weapon of war,[8][9][10] crimes against humanity[11][12] or genocide.[13]

Creation

In March 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had agreed to carry out a joint investigation into human rights violations during the Tigray War. Bachelet referred to "possible war crimes".[2]

The OHCHR stated that the investigation would cover "human rights violations and abuses allegedly committed by all parties in the context of the Tigray conflict". The OHCHR stated that itself and the EHRC had an ongoing partnership and shared objectives for human rights accountability for the Tigray War. The initial phase of the investigation was planned for a three-month period.[3][14]

Investigation schedule

One of the numerous mass graves of civilian victims in Tigray, massacred by ENDF and allied forces, that the joint commission will need to investigate[15]

In May 2021, the OHCHR and EHRC signed an agreement detailing "geographic scope, issues of investigation and engagement mechanisms". Six people were selected by each of the two commissions to create a team of twelve investigators. Legal, gender, security and translation staff were also appointed. Daniel Bekele, head of the EHRC, stated that the EHRC had received no communications from the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) on possible cooperation in the investigation.[4]

In July 2021, during its 47th session, the UNHRC called for the OHCHR to provide administrative, technical and logistical support for strengthening the capacity of the EHRC and the Ethiopian criminal justice system and requested updates on the investigation to be provided at the UNHRC's 48th and 49th sessions.[16]

The initial phase, scheduled from 16 May to 20 August, was extended in September, with 1 November 2021 announced as the new release date of the joint commission's report. A visit to Axum in relation to the Axum massacre had been prevented by "sudden changes in the security situation and in the conflict dynamics" according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.[17]

Criticism

The Guardian described "many Tigrayans in Ethiopia and abroad" as "outright reject[ing]" the EHRC's participation in the joint investigation.[18]

Gebrekiros Temare Getachew, writing in Ethiopia Insight, criticised the EHRC's participation. He argued that there was a structural bias, with Tigrayans de facto excluded from the House of Peoples' Representatives, to which the EHRC is legally accountable. He criticised the EHRC's preliminary report on the Mai Kadra massacre for presenting "ethnic Amharas as the sole victims", and the four-month delay between the Axum massacre and EHRC's preliminary report on it. He criticised the lack of attribution of perpetrators in the EHRC's report of sexual violence in the Tigray War. Gebrekiros also argued that the investigation would be ineffective because of Tigrayans' mistrust of the EHRC and because of EHRC's lack of institutional capacity and experience.[19]

In June 2021, Debretsion Gebremichael, the elected leader of Tigray Region, "rejected" the investigation, stating, "It's very clear they are partial."[20]

References

  1. ^ Voice of America – Tigrinya, 24 June 2021: ኣብ ቶጎጋ ትግራይ ብዝተፈጸመ መጥቓዕቲ ዝቆሰሉ ናብ ዓይደር ሆስፒታል ምእታው ምጅማሮም ተገሊጹ
  2. ^ a b Nichols, Michelle (2021-03-18). "U.N. rights chief agrees to Ethiopia request for joint Tigray inquiry". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  3. ^ a b "Ethiopia: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to conduct a joint investigation with a view to a credible accountability process". OHCHR. 2021-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  4. ^ a b Sahlu, Sisay (2021-05-15). "Joint team to start investigation in Tigray". The Ethiopian Reporter. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  5. ^ de Waal, Alex (2020-12-23). "Who Will Call Out Eritrea's War Crimes in Tigray?". Tufts University. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  6. ^ "Rapid Investigation into Grave Human Rights Violations in Maikadra: Preliminary Findings" (Digital report). Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. 24 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  7. ^ Steers, Julia (2020-12-24). "'He's Planning to Exterminate Us All': Ethiopians Speak of Ethnic Massacres". Vice. Archived from the original on 2020-12-25. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: 'I lost my hand when a soldier tried to rape me'". BBC News. 2021-02-15. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  9. ^ Feleke, Bethlehem; Mackintosh, Eliza; Mezzofiore, Gianluca (2020-03-20). "'Practically this has been a genocide' – Doctors say rape is being used as a weapon of war in Ethiopia's conflict". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  10. ^ Kassa, Lucy; Pujol-Mazzini, Anna (2021-03-27). "'We're here to make you HIV positive': Hundreds of women rush to Tigray hospitals as soldiers use rape as weapon of war". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  11. ^ "The massacre in Axum". Amnesty International. 2021-02-26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  12. ^ Walsh, Declan (2020-02-26). "Ethiopia's War Leads to Ethnic Cleansing in Tigray Region, U.S. Report Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  13. ^ Tronvoll, Kjetil (2021-02-27). "Is Eritrea's war in Tigray genocidal?". Eritrea Hub. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  14. ^ "Probe announced into alleged Tigray rights violations: UN rights office". United Nations. 2021-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  15. ^ Voice of America – Tigrinya, 11 June 2021: 'ነበርቲ ሓውዜን ግዳያት ኵናት ትግራይ ብጅምላ ይቐብርሉ ኣለው'ፀብፃብ ሄዘር ሞርዶክ
  16. ^ "47/... Situation of human rights in the Tigray region of Ethiopia" (PDF). United Nations Human Rights Council. 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Probe in Ethiopia's Tigray did not reach site of Axum attack: UN". Al Jazeera English. 2021-09-13. Archived from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  18. ^ "Ethiopia's human rights chief as war rages in Tigray: 'we get accused by all ethnic groups'". The Guardian. 2021-06-02. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  19. ^ Gebrekiros Temare, Getachew (2021-04-12). "Justice will not be served by a joint Ethiopian-UN inquiry into Tigray atrocities". Ethiopia Insight. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  20. ^ Walsh, Declan (2021-07-03). "'I Didn't Expect to Make It Back Alive': An Interview With Tigray's Leader". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
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