Tigray crimes offend human conscious and universal norms.
The Tigray international and non-international armed conflict and the flagrant violations of international humanitarian, refugee, African Union and UN laws, in particular the atrocities committed by the Eritrean, Ethiopian and Amhara forces such as the Axum, Mariam Denglat and Debre Abay monastery, Mahbere-Dego, Hadush Adi, Temben, Hawzen, etc. massacres and the widespread and systemic gang rape and malicious looting, vandalism and destruction of property in Tigray, have shocked global public conscious. There is no doubt that Africans have also been shocked by such two or more states-sponsored international crimes.
Clearly, the Tigray armed conflict and resultant humanitarian crisis poses several questions of breaches of AU and UN laws, and engages the Union’s foundational principles, as enshrined under Article 4 of the Constitutive Act, including:
‘the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity’;
‘the non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another’; and
‘respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance’;
Furthermore, the forced eviction of hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans from western and southern Tigray, contrary to the Ethiopian constitution, is a flagrant breach of the African (Kampala Convention) of 2009.
An abuse of the motto: ‘African solutions to African problems’
However, some officials of the Union and member States appear to have sided with the Eritrean and Ethiopian regimes, instead of upholding Union norms and international law, by abusing the slogan of ‘African solution to African problems’.
Watching idle and hindering international action while two-state sponsored crimes are being committed against an ethnic and national group in the continent can only send a wrong message to other human rights abusers and the international community about the integrity of the AU, its institutions and officials.
Furthermore, although the power struggle between the Abiy Ahmed-led Prosperity Party and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) had contributed to the escalation of political tensions in the country, the African Union and its member States must understand that the Tigray armed conflict is now between the Tigray people on the one hand, and the three aggressor and repressor forces and their allies on the other.
This is why tens of thousands of Tigrayans are joining the struggle against foreign subjugation and extreme internal repression.
The crackdown and designation of some political actors as terrorist groups by the Ahmed regime would also exacerbate the dire humanitarian and conflict situation in Ethiopia.
The Union must act now to uphold its norms.
Pursuant to the objectives and principles of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union, in the light of UN Charter obligations and the primary responsibility of the United Nations Security Council, the Union must undertake its responsibility by taking action to:
a. Peacefully settle the armed conflict between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Amhara forces on the one hand, and the Tigray regional state forces on the other hand;
b. Uphold fundamental human rights and international human rights law as clearly stipulated in Article 4 (c) of the Protocol that established the PSC;
c. Compel Eritrea to immediately and unconditionally withdraw from Tigray in accordance with Art 4 (f) of the Protocol;
d. Invoke ‘the right of the Union to intervene’ to the Ethiopia/Tigray complex conflict in response to the gross war crimes, crimes against humanity and potential genocide that are continued to be committed, in consultation with the Assembly of the Union;
e. Fully collaborate with the United Nations Security Council that has the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security, and other like-minded states, in particular the United States and European countries, to: i) establish and dispatch an impartial inquiry commission; ii) protect Tigrayan civilians, victims, survivors and witnesses; iii) ensure unfettered aid delivery across Tigray; and vi) force the Eritrean and Amhara forces, as the main obstacles to peace and stability in the region and alleged perpetrators of the atrocious crimes there, immediately and unconditionally withdraw form Tigray; and
f. Not recognise the crimes perpetrated by the Abiy and Isaias regimes by refusing to endorse the Ethiopian bogus election that is designed to provide legitimacy of an illegal and criminal regime that has been implicated in committing gross violations of African and international laws.
Short message:
In short, the African Union, its Member States and institutions must therefore stand with the people of Tigray, and not with those who are blatantly engaged in mass crimes at best. They must not give deaf ears to victims of atrocities, rape, eviction and starvation and hinder international action at worst.
Source:www.aigaforum.com
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