Since Nov. 2020, Amhara regional security forces and civilian authorities in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone have committed widespread abuses against Tigrayans that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a joint report released on Apr. 6. The report, ‘We Will Erase You From This Land’: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone, draws from the testimony of more than 400 people.
The report documents how newly-appointed officials in Western Tigray and security forces from the neighboring Amhara region, with the acquiescence and possible participation of Ethiopian federal forces, systematically expelled several hundred thousand Tigrayan civilians from their homes using threats, unlawful killings, sexual violence, mass arbitrary detention, pillage, forcible transfer, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. These widespread and systematic attacks against the Tigrayan civilian population amount to crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes.
Amnesty thanks lawmakers for their efforts thus far to address the human rights crisis in Ethiopia, including pushing the Biden administration to make a public determination if genocide has occurred and calling for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Ethiopians in the U.S.
We urge the U.S. government to:
- Press members of the UN Security Council to include Ethiopia on the Council’s formal agenda.
- Call on all warring parties to immediately facilitate safe, sustained, and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance in conflict-affected areas.
- Urge the Ethiopian government to restore basic services, including banking, communication, and electricity, in Tigray.
- Closely monitor justice and accountability initiatives in Ethiopia and demand greater transparency.
- Continue to provide political support and resources to the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia.
- Appoint a permanent Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa to lead the international community’s response to the crisis.
- Designate TPS for Ethiopia to ensure no one is returned to unsafe conditions.