Int'l Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia starts 1st visit to East African country

Addis Ababa, July 26 The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has disclosed that members of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia have started their first visit to the East African country.

The visit, slated from July 25 to 30, will be the Commission's first-ever visit to the East African country since it was established by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in December 2021, the OHCHR said on Monday in a statement.

The Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to, among other things, conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into allegations of violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law and international refugee law in Ethiopia committed since November 3, 2020, by all parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

The OHCHR added that during their visit in Ethiopia, the members of the Commission will interact with a wide range of interlocutors. The experts are also expected to issue a statement after they conclude their Ethiopian visit, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said the experts are in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to discuss with Ethiopian government officials and other stakeholders to try to find mutually acceptable modalities for possible engagement with the government in discharging their mandate.

The rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which currently de-facto rules Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, and the Ethiopian National Defence Force backed by allied forces have been engaged in a conflict since early November 2020. The conflict left millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

In March this year, the Ethiopian government and the rebel group announced a humanitarian ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the conflict-affected parts of northern Ethiopia.

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