What tools does the VP/HR have to stop sexual violence in Tigray?

Subject: What tools does the VP/HR have to stop sexual violence in Tigray?

In early 2021 the UN started receiving reports of rape and other forms of sexual assault being used as a weapon in the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia. There have, for example, been reports of large numbers of rapes in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, which the Ethiopian Government – led by Prime Minister and Nobel Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed – claims to control. There is also evidence of women being forced to commit sex acts in order to obtain basic supplies from troops.

The conflict in Tigray is escalating and may pose a threat to regional stability throughout East Africa. In the past 10 years the EU has given Ethiopia more than EUR 1 billion in aid, but recently money has stopped being sent because humanitarian organisations have consistently been refused access to people in need in the conflict zone in Tigray, and after refugee camps were set on fire.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has not thus far acknowledged that international law has been broken during his government’s tenure.

What tools can the Vice-President / High Representative for Foreign Affairs use to persuade Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to assume responsibility for these horrific crimes and to put a stop to the use of rape as a weapon in the conflict in Tigray?

Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell on behalf of the European Commission (3 June 2021)

The EU is alarmed by the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Tigray and its regional implications. Six months into the conflict, the EU reiterates its call for an end to violence and hostilities, for protection of civilians and refugees in respect of international humanitarian law, international refugee law and human rights law.

Full, rapid, effective and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need must be fully ensured in all areas, and humanitarian staff should be protected.

The EU is concerned by the numerous allegations of human rights violations and abuses involving multiple actors in Tigray. The withdrawal of Eritrean troops has not been materialised yet and should start without delay.

Council Conclusions on Ethiopia have been adopted on 11 March 2021 (1) and on a revised Horn of Africa strategy on 10 May 2021 (2). The Commission has also postponed the disbursement of budget support decisions to the government of Ethiopia, until key conditions are met: i) cessation of hostilities, ii) unhindered humanitarian access and iii) an investigation of reported human rights abuses. In parallel, the EU has strengthened its humanitarian support to vulnerable populations in Ethiopia, providing over EUR 63 million in 2020 and over EUR 53 million in 2021.

The EU supports the important work of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and has repeatedly called on the Ethiopian government to endorse its recommendations and fully implement judicial proceedings to ensure accountability. The EU welcomes the joint investigation between the Ethiopian government and the Office of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights and will continue to monitor the situation closely. Should the situation in Tigray continue to deteriorate, the EU remains ready to consider the use of all foreign policy tools at its disposal.

⋅1∙ https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/03/11/eu-ethiopia-relations-eu-council-conclusions-stress-the-strategic-partnership-and-eu-s-deep-

concerns-about-the-situation-in-the-tigray-region/

⋅2∙ https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/05/10/horn-of-africa-eu-to-deepen-strategic-relationship-with-the-region/