Ethiopia: Rights Groups Urge UN Human Rights Council Special Session As Ethiopia Fighting Raises Atrocity Fears

Addis Abeba — A coalition of human rights organizations has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to convene a special session on Ethiopia, warning that renewed large-scale hostilities could lead to a repeat of atrocities committed during the country's 2020-2022 war.

In a letter released Thursday following the conclusion of the HRC's 63rd regular session, the organizations urged the Council to urgently address the human rights consequences of the renewed conflict and take measures to prevent further violations. They called for those "perpetrating, ordering, or facilitating violations" to be held accountable.

The organizations, coordinated by DefendDefenders, said fighting has resumed on a large scale in Tigray and spread into neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, while conflicts continue in Amhara and Oromia.

They said the escalation effectively means that the 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has collapsed.

The letter also cited the emergence of an alliance of seven regional armed groups seeking to remove the federal government, warning that the developments could have wider destabilizing consequences across the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region.

"The significant escalation means that the 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement has collapsed," the organizations said, while warning of mounting risks to civilians.

The renewed fighting is taking place against an already severe humanitarian crisis, while civic space in Ethiopia remains heavily restricted, according to the organizations. They recalled that the 2020-2022 war was marked by massacres of civilians, widespread sexual violence, attacks on health facilities and personnel, and allegations of ethnic cleansing. Estimates of deaths during the conflict have reached several hundred thousand.

The organizations further warned that the absence of accountability for serious violations committed during the previous war is increasing the risk of renewed atrocities.

They said Ethiopia's transitional justice process has largely stalled, while the HRC's decision to end the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) removed an international mechanism that had been investigating violations and supporting accountability.

"The resulting impunity," the organizations warned, creates "grave risks for civilians, including of new atrocities."

The groups urged the HRC not to wait until its next regular session, scheduled for February-March 2027, arguing that the deteriorating situation requires immediate international action.

If a special session is convened, they proposed that the HRC President appoint a three-member panel of independent human rights experts drawn from existing United Nations special procedures and African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights mechanisms.

The panel would assess the situation, prepare a summary report and recommend measures for the Council to consider. The NGOs also called for the panel to keep the Council regularly informed and advise on whether further urgent meetings or action are required.

They additionally called for a high-level debate, or "enhanced interactive dialogue," on Ethiopia during the HRC's 64th regular session in early 2027.

The organizations also urged the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to resume public reporting on Ethiopia's human rights situation and called on the HRC to remain prepared to take further measures to prevent atrocities and pursue accountability for past and ongoing violations.

Read the original article on Addis Standard.