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"Reparations for Tigray War Victims!" - UN


FILE: Tigrayan women and children living at a school that has become a makeshift home in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Taken May 5, 2021.
FILE: Tigrayan women and children living at a school that has become a makeshift home in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Taken May 5, 2021.

The truce reached between Ethiopia's warring parties marks an "encouraging and bold step" towards peace, the UN rights chief said Thursday, demanding reparations for the brutal conflict's many victims.

Volker Turk, who took over as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights two weeks ago, welcomed the truce but stressed that "effective remedies and adequate reparation will be key for victims, and to foster reconciliation and national healing."

He also welcomed the deal between the federal government and Tigrayan regional authorities strongly emphasized human rights.

"Regular monitoring and reporting are crucial to prevent human rights violations and abuses in all areas affected by hostilities," Turk said.

He also hailed the agreement for condemning "sexual and gender-based violence, violence against children, girls, women, and older people" and also its "commitment to implement a comprehensive national transitional justice policy".

"Consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including victims and civil society, will be crucial in the design of this policy," he said.

The UN Human Rights Committee, which on Thursday presented conclusions following a recent review of Ethiopia's record, also hailed the truce.

Committee vice chair Christopher Arif Bulkan told reporters he hoped it would lead to a "considerable improvement" in Ethiopia's dire rights situation.

The committee of independent experts, which reviewed Ethiopia's record last month, decried in its conclusions the "serious and widespread human rights violations against civilians by all parties to the conflict in Tigray".

It called on Ethiopia to investigate all alleged violations, to hold perpetrators accountable and ensure victims "receive full reparations".

The committee report also urged Ethiopia "to protect freedom of expression", pointing to harassment, attacks, arbitrary arrests and detention of dissidents, as well as the use of criminal provisions "to silence dissent."

The truce forged November 3 in Pretoria followed two years of heightening conflict between Ethiopian forces and the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front. The conflict essentially blocked the northern Ethiopian region from outside relief from aid agencies., sharply increasing food insecurity and other major problems.

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