Situation in Tigray

Subject: Situation in Tigray

The situation in the Tigray Region in Ethiopia is deeply concerning: thousands have been displaced and more than 63 000 people have fled to neighbouring eastern Sudan, while 6 million people are at risk of starving to death and at least 4.5 million need urgent humanitarian aid. The Red Cross has reported shortages of drugs and medical supplies after 80% of hospitals have been ransacked and looted. UNICEF estimates that more than two million children are in need of assistance. Thousands of women and girls are said to have been raped. For weeks, there have been repeated claims of civilian massacres, while journalists continue to be arrested.

In view of these suspected violations of humanitarian law, and allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and following the visit by the EU’s special envoy to Tigray, we should like to ask the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy the following:

1. Are we witnessing a genocide?

2. What action will he take to facilitate an end to the conflict?

3. What kind of assistance will he provide to civilians, in particular women and children who have been subjected to deplorable acts of violence?

Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell on behalf of the European Commission (7 September 2021)

The situation in Tigray is extremely concerning. Violence persists, posing serious risks for the stability of Ethiopia and the entire region. The security situation has been deteriorating, with active fighting also in other regions of Ethiopia.

The EU is committed to contributing to the end of this conflict and human suffering. The EU has been calling on all parties to stop violence, urging for cessation of hostilities, unhindered humanitarian access and an investigation of reported human rights abuses (1).

It is the EU’s utmost priority to make sure that humanitarian access and assistance reach those in need, while ensuring the protection of civilians and the respect of International Humanitarian Law (2). Over 90% of the population are estimated to be in need of emergency food assistance (3).

The EU advocates for humanitarian access to Tigray by road and air to provide urgent humanitarian supplies to the most vulnerable. The EU allocated EUR 53.7 million as initial humanitarian funding for Ethiopia in 2021 (4), notably to meet the dire needs in Tigray. The EU and its Member States have mobilised EUR 118 million for assistance to Tigray and Ethiopian refugees in Sudan.

The EU supports investigations conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution, tabled by the EU and its Member States, to ensure regular reports by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tigray (5).

⋅1∙ https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/06/25/european-council-conclusions-on-external-relations-24-june-2021/

⋅2∙ https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/92765/ethiopia-joint-statement-high-representativevice-president-josep-borrell-commissioner-

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https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-10-2021-us-eu-joint-statement-humanitarian-emergency-tigray ⋅3∙ Humanitarianresponse.info : https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/ethiopia/document/ethiopia-northern-ethiopia-response-plan-may-2021 ⋅4∙ https://europeancommission.medium.com/tigray-crisis-famine-risk-soars-while-humanitarians-remain-targeted-f76374a6cdb1 ⋅5∙ https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=27303&LangID=E