FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On the Imperatives of Establishing Facts and Extending the Mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia 

25 August 2023

 

On the Imperatives of Establishing Facts and Extending the Mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia

25 August 2023

We, the Constituency for Accountability, note the tenets outlined in Article 10 of the Agreement for Lasting Peace Through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities (COHA) that was signed on 2 November 2022 in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. This significant article emphasizes the necessity of a holistic national transitional justice policy that harmonizes with the Constitution of FDRE and the African Union Transitional Justice Policy Framework.


We emphasize the undeniable link between peace and justice and believe that justice and accountability are cornerstones for sustainable peace in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, and other parts of Ethiopia. We are united in our commitment to be a voice that stands for justice, holds perpetrators to account, and paves the way for lasting peace in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.


As the Ethiopian government has presented its new transitional justice policy, 'Policy Options for Transitional Justice in Ethiopia,'- TJPE in short, our concerns about the Pretoria Agreement and its consequences for justice and accountability have become more intense. This policy disturbingly overlooks the necessity of gaining approval from the victims, communities directly affected, key stakeholders, and representatives of hotspots of the wars and atrocities, particularly in Tigray. TJPE was developed without the substantive and meaningful participation of victims in general, especially Tigray-based victims who bore the brunt of atrocities at the grassroots level in institutions.


The TJPE addresses all wars in Ethiopia, their associated atrocities, and their victims uniformly, neglecting their distinct characteristics. It overlooks the unique aspects of the war on Tigray, mainly:



Additionally, it disregards the geopolitical context within which these heinous crimes were perpetrated. The TJPE treats every atrocity committed in Ethiopia as the same without recognizing each case's variations and peculiarities in scale, nature, and gravity.


Furthermore, victims have been completely side-lined in policy design and priorities. This utterly undermines its legitimacy. It overlooks their needs, interests, and right to substantive participation. Owing to these reasons, the symbolic consultations conducted in Tigray have proved mainly that the TJPE, as currently designed, has been widely rejected in Tigray. 


Critics shed light on the limited scope of transitional justice mechanisms, the glaring absence of victim involvement, hurdles in reconciliation, and a continuous trend of state actor impunity. Moreover, the TJPE dangerously focuses on "national sovereignty," ignoring the "responsibility to protect" the population and prosecute all crimes while entirely ignoring deep-rooted systemic injustices, mass displacement, and destruction that fuelled the conflicts. With a talk of prioritizing reconciliation over accountability with little focus on the political and legal accountability of those in command responsibilities, the TJPE could irreversibly compromise sustainable peacebuilding and justice efforts. More gravely, signs point to the policy possibly being crafted to outdo the international examination led by the U.N.'s International Commission of Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE).


We further question if conditions are ripe to design, undertake meaningful consultation, and effectively implement a genuine transitional justice initiative in the current volatile context in Ethiopia. Ongoing hostilities, war, atrocities, and the failure to make meaningful progress on the key promises of the Pretoria Deal show that Ethiopia is not in transition to peace. Combined with past experiences, the ongoing states of emergencies, military operations, and conflicts in parts of Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and other parts of the country heighten our doubts over the Ethiopian government's sincerity towards resolving political disputes peacefully and its efforts to achieve true transitional justice. Even in the post-Pretoria Deal Ethiopia, persistent state-perpetrated crimes have severely added to this lack of trust. 


In light of Ethiopia's current situation, we find ourselves forced to pose the following crucial question:


We conclude that Ethiopia is not in a condition conducive to the launching of a comprehensive and full-fledged transitional justice process for the following reasons: 

 







 

Thus, we firmly believe that the utmost priority for the transitional justice process to commence in Ethiopia is the establishment of facts surrounding the wars.  Our reasons are as follows: 

 






ICHREE is uniquely positioned and best equipped to independently and impartially establish the comprehensive truth given local limitations and lack of trust in national mechanisms. It has the independence, mandate, and jurisdiction to impartially investigate atrocities committed by all parties involved, including the Eritrean government and other armies. Only the ICHREE evidence-based findings will provide an authoritative foundation to design a genuine, inclusive, and victim-centered transitional justice process when the time is right. There are no credible alternatives.


Therefore, we unreservedly support the extension of an expanded mandate of the ICHREE as the sole independent investigative mechanism capable of establishing the truth, scale of violations, chains of command, and ascribing responsibility in an impartial manner. A just and legitimate transitional justice policy following ICHREE's findings must only be implemented once the minimum conditions of political will for genuine transitional justice are generated and stability has been achieved. 


Hence, we call the international community, particularly the members of the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council, to fully support the ICHREE and ensure it gains unhindered access to atrocity hotspots, witnesses, sites, records, etc., to enable it to conduct a thorough investigation.


Co-signatories

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Advocacy Groups and Human Rights Institutions Call for International Support for the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE)

15 September 2023

We, the undersigned organizations, note the tenets set forth in Article 10 of the Agreement for Lasting Peace Through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities (the Pretoria Agreement) that was signed on 2 November 2022 in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. We underscore the symbiotic relationship between peace and justice, asserting that accountability is instrumental in bringing and sustaining peace in Ethiopia. Unified in purpose, we champion justice and accountability measures that would promote peace throughout Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. In line with the customary international law practices and norms upheld by the United Nations (UN), we invoke Article 10 of the Pretoria Agreement and emphasize the responsibility of the UN bodies to protect populations from atrocities and uphold justice, as key components of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) framework.

In accordance with sub article 3 of Article 10 of the Pretoria Agreement, the Government of Ethiopia unveiled the ‘Policy Options for Transitional Justice in Ethiopia’ (TJPE). The content of this policy has deepened our apprehensions about the ramifications of the Pretoria Agreement concerning justice and accountability. The TJPE, conceived without the requisite and meaningful engagement of victims, uniformly addresses all wars in Ethiopia, the associated atrocities, and their victims, overlooking their unique circumstances.

We further scrutinize whether the conditions are ripe for designing, engaging in substantive consultations, and launching a genuine and effective transitional justice initiative amidst the prevailing armed conflicts in Ethiopia. Persistent conflicts, war, mass atrocities, and the unwillingness and inability to fulfill the primary commitments of the Pretoria Agreement are indicators that Ethiopia is neither transitioning towards peace nor undergoing a political transition. When paired with historical experiences and the ongoing states of emergencies, armed conflict, and gross violations of human rights across various regions of the country, our skepticism regarding the feasibility and viability of realizing genuine transitional justice amplifies.

Our concerns regarding Ethiopia’s domestic approach to transitional justice are underscored by doubts concerning its acceptance by the Ethiopian populace, a conspicuous lack of political resolve to ensure justice, potential selective accountability, and the presence of both legal and practical hurdles in prosecuting those responsible. The Ethiopian justice system falls short of possessing the necessary attributes of independence, impartiality, competence, jurisdiction and capability to investigate crimes committed particularly in relations to the atrocities committed by the Eritrean government and the Eritrean Defense Forces.

We are firmly of the view that the initial step for the transitional justice process in Ethiopia is to ascertain the truths surrounding the wars and associated atrocities. We believe the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) is uniquely situated and equipped to uncover the comprehensive truth independently and impartially, given local constraints and a pervasive mistrust in national systems. It possesses the independence, mandate, and jurisdiction to objectively examine atrocities by all parties, including the Eritrean government and other military entities. Only findings from ICHREE, grounded in evidence, can lay the foundational bedrock for designing a sincere, inclusive, and victim-centric transitional justice process when circumstances permit. Alternative approaches lack credibility.

Consequently, we wholeheartedly advocate for the extension and expansion of ICHREE’s mandate as the sole and only remaining independent investigative mechanism capable of determining the truth, extent of violations, command structures, and assigning responsibility with impartiality. This must also be viewed in light of the ill-considered and premature termination of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into the situation in the Tigray Region of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. A just and rightful transitional justice policy based on ICHREE’s findings and recommendations would offer all the requisite for transitional justice.

Therefore, we appeal to the international community, particularly the members of the UN Human Rights Council, to unequivocally support the extension of ICHREE’s mandate and guarantee its unrestricted access to areas of atrocity, witnesses, locations, records, and the like, ensuring a comprehensive investigation and accountability.

Signatories:

CALL-TO-ACTION: Join the email & petition campaign urging the @UN_HRC to extend the #ICHREE mandate. Tigray deserves an independent and credible investigation into mass atrocities. #Justice4Tigray 

Visit https://www.callitagenocide.com/  and click on the “Act Now #Renew ICHREE” image.

Tigray Genocide, is it over?

New ICHREE Email Campaign, How-to

New ICHREE Petition Campaign, How-to

Why we should care about ICHREE?