Gov’t Disheartened By Biased, Uninformed ICHREE Report on Humanitarian Access in Tigray

Addis Ababa September 20/2022/ENA/ The government of Ethiopia is extremely disheartened by the biased and largely uninformed initial report that the ICHREE submitted in relation to humanitarian access in the Tigray region.

The government of Ethiopia has expressed its main observations on the draft report of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE).

The report not only failed to capture the true essence of the reality on the ground, but it also “turned a blind eye to efforts made by the government of Ethiopia unilaterally as well as in collaboration with humanitarian organizations to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the region,” according a statement the government issued.

The report ignored the massive humanitarian assistance rendered by the government of Ethiopia in many parts of Tigray - both during the period of its presence and since the withdrawal.  

 Furthermore, it indicated that after the unilateral cease-fire and immediate withdrawal from the Tigray region on humanitarian accounts, the government of Ethiopia has allowed and cooperated with INGOs and UN agencies to operate and provide services in the region - including medical services.

“Agencies were clustered by areas of specialization to mobilize their resource,” according to government main observation.

At the time of the unilateral ceasefire, nearly 618 million worth of drugs were in stock in Tigray and 218.89 metric tons of medicine were delivered within a year from the cease-fire through INGOs - as the government of Ethiopia has no physical access.

In this regard, the government of Ethiopia expressed its regret that areas controlled by TPLF during the conflict and subjected to extensive looting and destruction of medical facilities were widely reported by human rights organizations - including the EHRC, and yet, these transgressions were barely looked into by the ICHREE.