Ethiopia Rejects Untimely Adoption of Politically Motivated EU Resolution on Tigray

July 13, 2021 (ENA) Ethiopia has rejected the resolution by the European Union on the situation of human rights in Tigray adopted at the 47th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In a press statement issued today, Ministry of Foreign Affair noted that "there is no moral nor legal ground to justify the untimely adoption of a politically motivated resolution."

It is to be recalled that the government had agreed to the deployment of the joint investigation team composed of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to inquire into human rights violations allegedly committed during the crisis in Tigray.

According to the statement, the joint team commenced its investigation in May this year and is expected to finalize its work in August 2021. In addition, investigations are being expanded in scope by coordinating the efforts of the military justice system, regional law enforcement authorities and federal investigators and prosecutors.

In spite of this the proposal was put forth by the European Union at the 47th Session of the Human Rights Council.

The Government of Ethiopia has been appealing for the withdrawal of the resolution on the premise that first, it is premature, and second, it interferes with and undermines the integrity of the ongoing joint investigations, the press statement elaborated.

The government made its case clear before the council, pleaded for the investigation to run its course and called on the august body to provide the necessary time and space for the investigations to be completed, the ministry stated.

"All its efforts, however, were to no avail and, in its view, there is no moral nor legal ground to justify the untimely adoption of a politically motivated resolution," the statement said, adding that constructive engagement, rather than a hasty decision by the council would have contributed to expeditiously bring the ongoing efforts to a successful conclusion. For these reasons, Ethiopia rejects this resolution."

The ministry further declared: Let it be known that those who were involved in committing crimes will be brought to justice and punished to the full extent of the law. The Government of Ethiopia once again reiterates its commitment to fulfill its national and international human rights obligations.