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

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:

1. Horn of Africa Civil Society Forum (HoACSF), consisting of 70 CSOs
2. Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM)
3. United Women of the Horn (UWH)
4. Friends of Tigray
5. Genocide80Twenty
6. Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT)
7. Oromo Legacy Leadership & Advocacy Association (OLLAA)
8. Solidarity of Nations of Ethiopia
9. Ethiopian Canadians for Peace
10. Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia Human Rights (CEDA) association – Belgium
11. Congress for Somali Cause
12. Seedling for Peace and Democracy in Eritrea
13. Brotherly Relationship of Natives of Eritrea and Tigray
14. Human Right First (Ethiopia)
15. Human Rights Action Group
16. Culture Education et Developpement pour la Corne de I’Afrique (CEDA asbl)
17. Eritrean Bright Future Movement
18. Mahber Selam Ethio-Eritrea
19. Foundation Human Rights for Eritreans
20. Eritrea Free Media
21. Sitti Solidarity Council
22. Sitti Diaspora Association
23. Somali State Intellectual Forum
24. West-Somali-Ogaden Society
25. VICTIM GROUP COUNCIL
26. Issa Community Unity (ICU)
27. Ceda-ASBI
28. Yata Media
29. Mahber Keskese Mlash
30. Eritrean Kudus Rufael Kerk
31. Congolese Sepoir
32. DW International in Nederland
33. Mahber Akran
34. Mariam Drachten
35. Mahber Bet Metaa
36. Arbate Adi Belesa
37. Logo Sarda
38. Vereniging Selam Edir
39. Vereniging van Ethiopische Tigreërs in Nederland
40. Canada Tibet Committee
41. Alliance of Genocide Victim Communities
42. URAP | Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project
43. Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARPSH)
44. Rohingya Student Network (RSN)
45. Rohingya Women Association for Empowerment and Development (RWAED)
46. Education and Wisdom Development for Rohingya Women (EWDRW)
47. Rohingya Union For Women Education & Development (RUWED)
48. Alliance of Civil Society Organizations of Tigray (ACSOT), Network of 72 CSOs in Tigray
49. Bishop Abune Tesfaselassie Medhin, Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat
50. Tigray Youth Association (Tigray)
51. Union of Tigrayans in Belgium
52. Tigrayan Advocacy & Development Association UK
53. Tigray Youth Network UK
54. Mekete Tigray UK
55. The Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS)
56. Association of Tigrayans in Denmark
57. Association of Tigrayans in France
58. Tigray Development Association in France
59. Association of Tigrayans in the Netherlands
60. Association Tigray Development Association in the Netherlands (TDA NL)
61. Association Tigray’s Women in Netherlands
62. Dekna Foundation
63. Tigrayan Youth Association in Italy
64. Forum Mekete, Italy
65. Tigrayan Scholars in Italy (TSI)
66. Cultural Association and Social Promotion of the Tigray Community in Italy
67. Volunteer Association for the Development of Tigray, Italy
68. Association for the Development of Tigray (AST)
69. Associations of Tigrayan Community in Bologna
70. Tigray Community Association in Tuscany (ACTT)
71. Association of Tigrayan Women in Italy
72. Tigrayhjelpen Norway
73. Tigray Community Switzerland
74. Association of Tigrayan Women in Sweden/TKFS
75. Union of Tigrayan Associations in Sweden
76. Tigray Human Rights Forum
77. Omna Tigray
78. Legacy Tigray
79. Security and Justice for Tigrayans (SJT)
80. Health Professionals Network for Tigray (HPN4Tigray)
81. Tigray Action Committee (TAC)
82. Tigray Center for Information and Communication (TCIC)
83. Rescue Tigrayan Rape Victims
84. Tsilalna Tigray
85. Union of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
86. Waela Tigray
87. Irob Anina Civil Society (IACS)
88. United Tegaru Canada
89. Tinsae Midre Bahri
90. Union of Tigrayans in Europe (UTE)
91. Tigray Advocacy and Development Association (TADA) – UK
92. Samarbeidsfora for Norsk-Tigrayanere- Norway
93. Association of Tigrayan Communities in Canada
94. United Tegaru Canada (UTC)
95. Tigrayan-Canadians Immigration Association
96. Tigray Humanitarian Aid
97. Tigray Community Dallas
98. Tigrayan Association in Toronto
99. Tigray community of Windsor and Essex County
100. Tigray community of Saskatchwan
101. Tigray community of Fory McMurry
102. Tigray community of Edmenton
103. Tigray community of Calgary
104. Tigray community of Vancouver
105. Tigray community of Quebec
106. Tigray community of Ottawa
107. Tigray community of Toronto
108. TDA Vancouver
109. Health professionals and Supporters of Canada
110. Tigray community of Manitob