Ethiopia Slams UN Statement on Tigray Conflict

On September 7, the UN Human Rights Council’s International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia expressed concern over the resumption of hostilities between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The commission also welcomed the decision of the UNSC to discuss the situation as a matter of urgency.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry has reacted to the statement of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia which condemned the resumption of fighting between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), with Adis Abeda noting that the commission has neiter "competence" nor "proper appreciation" of the conflict.

“The Commission cannot arrogate to itself a mandate to pronounce on matters of threat to peace and security. The Commission’s ultra vires and blatant call for action against Ethiopia by the Security Council only show the reckless behavior of the Commission and vindicates the Government’s assertion that the resolution establishing the Commission, and the works of the Commission are politically motivated,” Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

It also claimed that the commission uses the issue of human rights as a weapon for “political pressure”, which closes all opportunities for cooperation between the government and the UN grouping.

FILE - In this Friday, May 7, 2021 file photo, a fighter loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) walks along a street in the town of Hawzen, then-controlled by the group but later re-taken by government forces, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Tigray forces say Ethiopia’s government has launched its threatened major military offensive against them in an attempt to end a nearly year-old war. A statement from the Tigray external affairs office on Monday, Oct. 11 alleged that hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian “regular and irregular fighters” launched a coordinated assault on several fronts. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

© AP Photo / Ben Curtis

On September 7, the UN Human Rights Council’s International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia expressed its deep concern about the renewal of hostilities between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

Both sides reported that the first shots after a five-month truce were fired in the early hours of August 24 on the southern borders of Tigray in the city of Kobo, blaming each other for starting hostilities.

The flaring up of the conflict comes amidt hopes of an extension in the truce and possibility of the peace talks.