News EHRC catches heat for turning blind eye to rights violations in Tigray,…
December 28, 2024
Regional prosecutors have criticized the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission for its failure to document human rights violations committed in Tigray during and after the two-year war.
The comments came during a discussion between senior officers at the Commission and the country’s judiciary.
Ammanuel Haileselassie, a prosecutor at the Tigray Attorney-General Bureau, demanded to know why the Commission omitted Tigray in its first national inquiry on rights of persons deprived of their liberty, the findings of which were recently published.
“It is known at both the state and federal level that many human rights violations have been committed in this region [Tigray]. It’s clear that likely more human rights violations were committed [in Tigray] than in other regions. If priority is given to regions based on the severity of violations committed, is it not possible to investigate what happened in Tigray?” asked Ammanuel.
He told officers of the Commission the Eritrean army, Amhara forces, and Tigrayan armed forces all committed human rights violations in the region.
“This EHRC investigation has to be carried out in Tigray, or the Commission must tell us if there are any powers or situations that are preventing it from doing this,” said Ammanuel.
The prosecutor said the Commission’s omissions and underwhelming statements when violations were taking place in Tigray have left the public dissatisfied. He called on EHRC to disclose the true nature of the crimes that occurred in Tigray.
“There were many violations in Tigray. Inhumane treatment of suspects, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, violations of rights to be visited by family and council have all taken place under the cover of command post [martial] law,” said Ammanuel.
He stated the rights violations were sanctioned by three separate emergency regulations and committed under the guise of law.
Ammanuel told the Commission that even rights to bail and family visitations were only applied exceptionally.
His misgivings were echoed by a representative from the Benishangul-Gumuz Prisons Commission.
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“There is a remote area in the Kamashi Zone, bordering Oromia. There are many arrested there. We write about them to all responsible judicial bodies but no one responds,” he said.
He disclosed that despite repeated visits by EHRC experts, the Rights Commission has failed to act.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “There is an EHRC branch in our region. Why aren’t we seeing the Commission disclosing the human rights violations and killings happening in our region to the media? Why is it not conveying our problems to the federal government? The Commission has full knowledge of the people that have been killed, displaced and had their properties looted. Most of the time, there are on media reports regarding our region. We did not see any reports even after people from 30 kebeles were displaced. Why has this happened and why is it not made public?”
Officers from EHRC pointed to security concerns and financial constraints in their replies.
“Although we are free and independent, like any other government institution, there are limitations on our resources,” said Molalagne Asmare, a senior officer at the Commission.
He indicated the regions would be included in future investigations, but asked whether regional police, courts, prison commissions, and prosecutors would be willing to provide data to make the inquiry possible, given the current security situation.