Denounces “serious violations” of human rights and attacks “with extreme brutality and cruelty” against civilians
July 8. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Ethiopian government forces and various armed groups operating in the African country have been behind the deaths of hundreds of civilians and other human rights abuses over the past year, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reported on Friday ( EHRC).
The organization has highlighted in its annual report, which has been sent to Parliament, that it has documented “serious violations of Human Rights committed by state and non-state actors in the context of the conflict that have resulted in widespread deaths, physical and psychosocial damage and gender-based violence”, among other abuses.
Thus, it has stated that the attacks have been carried out against civilians, including women, girls, the elderly and people with disabilities, before adding that “they were carried out with extreme brutality and cruelty”, as stated in a statement published by the agency on its website.
“In the context of the war in Ethiopia, all parties to the conflict have committed serious violations of International Law and Humanitarian Law against civilians”, he said, while stressing that “in conflict zones, the right to life, security, justice, not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the right not to suffer punishment have been violated by the government forces, the Tigrayan forces – in reference to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF)– and other armed groups,” he detailed.
In this regard, he stressed that “although a large number of these violations are civilians, captured members of the parties to the conflict have also been subjected to these violations”, before adding that “in other regions, in some police stations and irregular centers detention, detainees have been subjected to illegal practices, prolonged detention pending trial and beatings”.
Regarding the conflict unleashed in November 2020 between the Ethiopian Army and the TPLF in Tigray –later extended to Amhara and Afar–, “the interruption of basic services, the destruction of medical and educational facilities, as well as private property ( …) and large-scale displacement have a negative impact on socio-economic rights, including the rights to food, health and education.”
The EHRC has specified that during the period of state of emergency decreed by the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, as a result of the advances of the TPLF towards the capital, Addis Ababa, “arbitrary and generalized arrests, arrests in irregular places, refusal of the visitation rights and lengthy detention pending trial”. The measure was in place between November 2021 and January 2022.
“In some areas, court orders were ignored and people have continued to be detained in violation of bail orders, even after the prosecution dropped charges,” he said. Previously, the detention of thousands of people, mainly Tigrayans, had been reported after the declaration of the state of emergency.
In this way, it has specified that “nearly 9,000 residents of Tigrayan origin were detained in December 2021 in the Afar region and are still, to this day, held in two camps in the city of Semera”, while the “limited access to humanitarian aid and medical care” has resulted in several deaths.
“In the Oromia and Somali regions, the drought has reduced the capacity of the Government and non-governmental organizations to provide humanitarian aid,” he lamented, specifying that “more than four million internally displaced persons are still waiting for durable solutions and They depend on humanitarian aid.
In another development, the agency has said that 54 media workers were detained for “days to months” between July 2021 and May 2022, including 15 who remain in detention in the Tigray region.
EHRC chief Daniel Bekele stressed that the report “is a reminder that since political disagreements and instability are at the root of the overall context of war, conflict and widespread attacks on civilians in Ethiopia, political solutions are an inevitable part of sustainable solutions”.
“While this annual report is not intended to be an exhaustive list of incidents of human rights violations, it is a comprehensive look at concerns in this regard that require immediate and urgent action,” he concluded.
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