“The incident reports that we see coming out of Ethiopia are deeply disturbing and constitute a call for action,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu. “I want to particularly draw the attention of the global community to the continued presence of risk factors for genocide and related atrocity crimes in the country,” she warned on Tuesday.

There are reports that entire families have been killed, relatives forced to watch horrific crimes against their loved ones, while whole communities have been displaced or expelled from their homes.  

“The suffering of innocent civilians should never be accepted as inevitable; rather, it must reinforce our commitment to ensure that impunity does not prevail and that all possible prevention actions are prioritized,” the Special Adviser said.

Wide-ranging violations

Ms. Nderitu alluded to her previous reports on the situation in the country over the last three years, as well as the 14 September report by the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, which documented violations against civilians in the Amhara region and on-going violations in Tigray.

She is calling for an immediate end to wide-ranging violations perpetrated by parties to the conflict since 3 November 2020, including mass killings, rape, starvation, destruction of schools and medical facilities, forced displacement and arbitrary detention.

She noted that the Commission’s report also decried the situation in Oromia, Amhara, and other parts of the country – including what it described as ongoing patterns of violations, entrenched impunity, and increasing securitization of the state – which bear hallmarked risks of further crimes.  

Ongoing hostilities

Confirming concerns raised by the Special Adviser in previous statements, the report specifies that violations against Tigrayan civilians were frequently accompanied by insulting or derogatory language, often through pejorative terms including “junta,” “woyane” and “agame”, during attacks.

“Perpetrators have expressed the intention to target a group on the basis of ethnicity,” noted the Special Adviser. “This includes describing Tigrayans as ‘cancer,’ indicating a desire to kill men and children, or else to destroy women’s reproductive capacities. This must raise all alarms that the risk of genocide is present and growing,” emphasized the Special Adviser.  

She also noted with grave concern the Commission report’s conclusion that widespread rape, multi-perpetrator-rape, and other forms of sexual violence against ethnic Amhara and Agew women and girls, in at least 11 towns and villages in had been committed.

The Special Adviser condemned these actions in the strongest possible terms. “It is imperative that violence stops and that innocent civilians are not directly targeted. Ongoing hostilities constitute a war against civilians as much as a war between the warring parties.”

Crimes against humanity

An agreement to cease hostilities in the country more than a year ago has largely failed, as violent confrontations continue, with mounting allegations of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity still being committed in the country.

On 24 September, the historic city of Gondar in Amhara reportedly saw heavy urban combat when local militias known as the Fano entered the city, prompting intense clashes with the Federal Forces.

“Reports that Eritrean troops and Amhara militia members continue to commit grave violations in Tigray, including the systematic rape and sexual violence of women and girls, are disturbing,” Ms.Nderitu stated, adding that “there have been numerous credible reports of violations against Amhara civilians since the announcement of a state of emergency in August 2023. These violations must stop immediately.” 

After the ballots were cast and counted, Assembly President Dennis Francis announced Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were elected to serve for three years, beginning 1 January 2024.

China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi were re-elected for their second terms. 

The Human Rights Council, the UN’s premier rights body, is tasked with the responsibility to uphold and advance fundamental freedoms globally. It was created in 2006 and consists of 47 member States, elected via secret ballot by the majority of General Assembly members.

In order to ensure equitable geographical distribution, its seats are distributed among regional groups of States as follows, from Africa (13); Asia-Pacific (13); Eastern European (6); Latin American and Caribbean (8); and Western European and others (7).

Details

Malawi topped the voting for African nations, with 182 votes, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (181), Ghana (179), Burundi (168), and Nigeria (3). In Asia and the Pacific, Indonesia secured 186 votes, followed by Kuwait (183), Japan (175), and China (154).

In Eastern Europe, Bulgaria received 160 votes, followed by Albania (123), and Russia (83). Russia was seeking re-election to the Human Rights Council after it resigned from the body on 7 April 2022.

Latin America and the Caribbean saw Cuba secure 146 votes, followed by Brazil (144), Dominican Republic (137) and Peru (108). This is the first time Dominican Republic is elected to the Human Rights Council.

In Western Europe and others, the Netherlands received 169 votes, and France 153.

The new members will join Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Chile, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Montenegro, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Viet Nam on 1 January 2024. 

Vitit Muntarbhorn, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, also said that the hereditary succession to power raised serious concerns with respect to human rights, democratic principles and the international rule of law.

Mr. Muntarbhorn and other rights experts had previously described the lead-up to and the outcome of the July polls as “extremely disconcerting”, amid restrictions and harassment targeting political opponents and the media.

In August, Hun Manet became the country’s new Prime Minister, taking over from his father, Hun Sen, who led the country for more than three decades.

Human rights benchmarks

The call by Mr. Muntarbhorn coincided with the presentation of his report to the UN Human Rights Council, in which he assessed progress towards 20 key human rights benchmarks.

“A key challenge for implementing human rights benchmarks lies in the intergenerational power shift in the country, which is intertwined with the political and electoral processes and coupled with the restricted civic-political space,” he said.

Among the 20 benchmarks, 12 were found to be off target, and three with variable levels of implementation. Five benchmarks, such as improving access to education and allocating additional resources to the social sector, were considered on target.

Use of draconian laws

Mr. Muntarbhorn also received reports of continued attacks, unjustified arrests and prosecutions of human rights defenders, journalists, political dissidents and others critical of the authorities.  

“The use of draconian laws creates challenges for individuals working on human rights and environmental issues, as they face significant pressure when interacting with authorities,” he said.

Many human rights defenders and environmental activists have remained in detention since the beginning of 2023, with their numbers increasing compared to the previous year.

“Various political dissidents are being held in distant prisons, raising concerns about their freedom and well-being,” Mr. Muntarbhorn said, calling for the immediate release of those detained and for the charges against them to be dropped.

Independent expert

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and form part of what is known as its Special Procedures. The experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations.

They serve in their individual capacity, are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.