UN investigators probing alleged rights violations in Ethiopia on Thursday said they wanted a planned visit to Addis Ababa to pave the way to wider access as they voiced alarm over \"ongoing atrocities\".<\/p>\n
The United Nations set up a three-member panel of rights experts in December with a renewable one-year mandate to investigate abuses since the conflict broke out in November 2020.<\/p>\n
The authorities have accepted a visit to Addis Ababa, and commission member Steven Ratner told AFP he hoped this would take place in the second half of July.<\/p>\n
But he said the goal was to get \"unhindered access\" to other regions.<\/p>\n
Panel chair Kaari Betty Murungi said members were \"alarmed that violations and abuses... appear to be perpetrated with impunity even now by various parties to the conflict.\"<\/p>\n
\"The commission emphasises the responsibility of the government of Ethiopia to bring to an end such violations on its territory and bring those responsible to justice,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Fighting erupted in the northern region of Tigray when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent in troops to topple the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).<\/p>\n
He said he acted in response to rebel attacks on army camps.<\/p>\n
Untold numbers of people have died in the region, as well as the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.<\/p>\n
Millions are also in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with many in Tigray on the brink of famine and the region without basic services such as electricity and communications.<\/p>\n
- 'Atrocities' -<\/p>\n
\"We are extremely alarmed by ongoing atrocities against civilians, including events reported in the Oromia region,\" Murungi said.<\/p>\n
The commission is probing alleged violations by all parties to the conflict.<\/p>\n
An earlier joint investigation by the UN rights office and Ethiopia's Human Rights Commission determined that possible war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed by all sides.<\/p>\n
Murungi, a Kenyan High Court lawyer, is joined on the panel by US law professor Ratner and Radhika Coomaraswamy, the former chair of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.<\/p>\n
The investigators met with Ethiopia's justice minister in May and requested access to the country.<\/p>\n
\"The Ethiopian government has responded to our request to visit Addis Ababa positively,\" Murungi said.<\/p>\n
\"We are hopeful that the consultations in Addis Ababa will result in access for our investigators to sites of violations to be identified, and to survivors, victims and witnesses.\"<\/p>\n
Although Ethiopia rejected the commission's creation, it says it has since started talks with the experts.<\/p>\n
Its representative in Geneva, Zenebe Kebede Korcho, said if Ethiopia's serious reservations were taken into account, there could be \"practical ways of reaching a common understanding\".<\/p>\n
He said the country was \"turning a page\" and the government was seeking a \"peaceful end to the conflict\".<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UN investigators probing alleged rights violations in Ethiopia on Thursday said they wanted a planned visit to Addis Ababa to pave the way to wider access as they voiced alarm over \"ongoing atrocities\". The United Nations set up a three-member panel of rights experts in December with a renewable one-year mandate to investigate abuses since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553,2576],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-102909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed","category-fil-d-actualite"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n