Antony Blinken discusses want for accountability for atrocities throughout Ethiopia go to
CNN
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday pressed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on accountability for atrocities dedicated by all events all through the yearslong battle in northern Ethiopia.
The secretary of state and the prime minister met for roughly two and a half hours within the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa throughout Blinken’s first go to to the nation as the highest US diplomat.
His journey comes months after the 2 main events to the battle – the Abiy authorities and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – reached a “permanent cessation of hostilities agreement” geared toward ending the bloody dispute that prompted a humanitarian disaster and led to a big rift within the relations between the United States and Ethiopian governments.
A prime State Department official mentioned previous to the journey, which additionally features a go to to Niger, that the US is trying to “refashion our engagement with Ethiopia” following the “earthshattering” battle.
“To put that relationship in a forward trajectory, we will continue to need steps by Ethiopia to help break the cycle of ethnic political violence that has set the country back for so many decades, including most acutely in this recent conflict,” Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee mentioned on a name with reporters final week.
In their assembly Wednesday, Blinken and Abiy “discussed the significant progress in implementing” the cessation of hostilities settlement, together with “improved humanitarian access and restoration of basic services,” in response to a US State Department readout.
The two “discussed the importance of accountability for the atrocities perpetrated by all parties during the conflict” and “the need for an inclusive and comprehensive process of transitional justice,” the readout mentioned.
CNN reported extensively on mass killings and acts of sexual violence that had been dedicated throughout the course of the battle, a few of which bear the hallmarks of genocide. Blinken mentioned in late 2021 that the US would make a dedication about whether or not the crimes dedicated in northern Ethiopia represent genocide “once we get all the analysis that goes into looking at the facts and looking at the law,” however a public dedication has not but been made.
A joint report launched in late 2021 by the Office of UN Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission discovered that every one events to the battle had “committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
The Biden administration enacted some punitive measures in response to the battle. In November 2021, they imposed sanctions on Eritrea’s navy and its sole political get together for his or her involvement within the battle. At the beginning of 2022, Ethiopia misplaced entry to a profitable US commerce program referred to as the African Growth and Opportunity Act as a consequence of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”