Ethiopia’s Tigray Crisis: Violations of Int'l Humanitarian & Human Rights Law (22 December 2020)

As more than 52,000 Ethiopian refugees have fled the Tigray region over the past six weeks into eastern Sudan, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and partners have launched an urgent appeal for funding needs.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned on Tuesday of increasing concerns about the situation of civilians in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, given the continuing lack of overall humanitarian access and ongoing communications blackout in many areas seven weeks after the conflict began.

The High Commissioner welcomed the Ethiopian Government's statement that there would be unimpeded humanitarian access, in line with the agreement with the UN signed on 29 November, but stressed that this needs to be to all areas of Tigray where civilians have been affected by the fighting.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell said at the biweekly press briefing in Geneva that they had received consistent allegations concerning violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including artillery strikes on populated areas, the deliberate targeting of civilians, extrajudicial killings and widespread looting.

Source: UNTV CH