Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 22
22
In line with the recent G7 statement on the importance of an independent, transparent and...
Recommendation
In line with the recent G7 statement on the importance of an independent, transparent and impartial investigation into crimes reported in Tigray, the UK Government should work with the appropriate authorities to enable access for independent monitors to Tigray to ensure that evidence of the crimes that have been committed is secured and 46 GOV.UK, Ethiopia: G7 Foreign Ministers’ Joint Statement on Tigray, 2 April 2021 47 United Nations Security Council, Security Council Press Statement on Ethiopia, SC/14501, 22 April 2021 48 OCHA, Ethiopia – Tigray Region Humanitarian Update: Situation Report, 8 March 2021, p.2 49 Q21 The humanitarian situation in Tigray 13 to bring those who are responsible to justice. The Government should continue to press for clarity on how the joint investigations by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will work.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
We have and continue to press hard for unfettered access for independent international human rights organisations. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has previously shown its willingness to act independently and must continue to do so through the joint investigation, which we judge is the most credible prospect available for holding the perpetrators of atrocities in Tigray to account. The UK will therefore support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that their joint investigations into atrocities in Tigray with the EHRC are independent, transparent and impartial. The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ participation in the joint investigation must in no way compromise their mandate to independently investigate and report on atrocities in Tigray. The UK further welcomes the proposed AU Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights, calls for the Government of Ethiopia to allow access to this inquiry and is in touch with the African Union on how we might support this effort.