Joint Investigation Report Lauded as Record for Ethiopia Invites Foreign Orgs to Conduct Serious Human Right Violations

Addis Ababa November 6/2021 (ENA) The joint investigation report of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into alleged violations of human rights is the first of its kind for Ethiopia which invited an international human rights organization to conduct such serious crimes, the Executive Director of Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations said.
 

It is to be recalled that the organizations released a 165-page joint investigation report on alleged international human rights violations and other committed crimes in the context of the conflict in Tigray.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations Executive Director Mesud Gebeyehu said it is a very comprehensive report carried out jointly by an invited global entity.

“For me, this report is the first of its kind with this nature. We never had such a comprehensive report. And there is even no such a record which mentions that the international human rights organizations had been invited by a government to conduct such serious violations of human rights abuses at this level,” he added.  

According to him, the joint investigation team has mainly came up with a document requesting  full accountability of the alleged human rights violations in the country and remedying victims of human rights violations as well as recommendations for  actionable measures.

Noting that the team has also found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that all parties to the conflict in Tigray have committed human rights violation, the executive director stated that the comprehensive report covers lots of human rights issues.

With respect to this, the Government of Ethiopia has acknowledged and welcomed the report and  pledged to follow up the findings of the investigation for further accountability, Mesud pointed out.

 “The recommendations and the key findings mean a lot for the human rights and international communities,” the executive director stated, adding that this is a good start the Ethiopian government has taken,  even if it has reservations on the contents of the report.

The report carried out within the framework of relevant international legal norms has proved Ethiopia’s practical move for its promises in creating democratic and human rights institutions, he noted.

“The report is a demonstration that Ethiopia has given pragmatic response to freedom and human rights in the country by allowing the conduct of such a large-scope human rights investigation in its own territory. We are looking these days that the reform is being realized,” the executive director elaboarated.

Mesud also believes that the positive response of the government and the strong recommendations by the joint investigation team as well as the recently declared state of emergency would help to bring about better accountability of perpetrators of crimes who have been engaged directly and indirectly in the process of human right abuses.

The joint investigation report covered alleged violations by all parties to the conflict from 3rd November 2020, when the terrorist TPLF launched attack against the Northern Command, until the unilateral ceasefire declared by the federal government of Ethiopia on 28 June 2021.