The United Nations Office at Geneva
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UNOG-NEWS OHCHR presser 03NOV2021 continuity
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55:09
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MP4
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4 GB
SHOTLIST OF THE EDITED STORY:
- Exterior Palais des Nations, alley of flags
- Wide shot: podium in press conference - HC Michelle Bachelet
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We have reasonable grounds to believe that during this period, all parties to the Tigray conflict have committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. Some of these may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
- Wide shot: podium in press conference with participants
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Civilians in Tigray have been subjected to brutal violence and suffering. The Joint Investigation Team uncovered numerous violations and abuses, including unlawful killings and extra-judicial executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, violations against refugees, and forced displacement of civilians.”
- High shot: of press conference room
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The family of four killed in Ayder, Mekelle as their house was shelled, reportedly by the Ethiopian National Defence Force, without any apparent military justification. The 26-year-old woman in Adiet who was gang raped by Eritrean Defence Force soldiers in front of her three-year-old daughter. The man in Mai Kadra attacked with machetes by the Samri Tigrayan youth group, shot in the back and thrown into a fire.”
- Close up: journalist watching screen
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “And this senseless war has since continued and is escalating, engulfing increasing parts of the country. Every day more people are suffering and dying. Recent days have seen reports of continued shelling by the Ethiopian National Defence Force of the Tigrayan regional capital of Mekelle and further advances by Tigrayan forces into the neighbouring region of Amhara.”
- Cut away: participants
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We are receiving continued allegations of serious abuses and violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law. There are reports of shelling and airstrikes resulting in civilian deaths, summary executions, large-scale displacement and a worsening humanitarian situation. I will shortly issue a brief update referring to some of the allegations we have been receiving since the June cut-off date of our report.”
- Medium shot: Photographers
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “While the majority of the violations documented between November 2020 and June 2021 appear to have been committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, we have since then seen an increasing number of allegations of human rights abuses by Tigrayan forces, as well as continued reported violations by Ethiopian and Eritrean defence forces.”
- Close up: Photographers
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Weembarked on this joint investigation, at the invitation of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, to enable our teams to get first-hand information on the facts, to allow us to provide a faithful account of the situation in Tigray, and to assist in ensuring accountability.”
- Wide shot: Cameras and photographers
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The report is not an exhaustive record of all violations and abuses that occurred during the conflict, but it fairly illustrates the main types and overall patterns of violations and abuses. I am grateful to the many victims and witnesses who shared their experience and to others who provided pertinent information. Their voices speak in the pages of this report.”
- Medium shot: journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I want to amplify here today what victims and survivors of violations conveyed to our joint investigation team: they want their means of livelihood restored. They want reparations for their destroyed homes and all they have lost. They want to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones, for all sides to acknowledge their role in the suffering they have inflicted on them and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.”
- Medium shot: participant
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “A key concern of our report is due accountability. National authorities have the primary responsibility to deliver fair and independent proceedings that address the full range of violations identified, rather than isolated individual instances. If national authorities are not in position to do so, an international, independent investigative mechanism should be considered.”
- Wide shot: press conference room and cameras
- SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Building on this joint report, such a mechanism could then take steps to undertake criminal investigations, and gather and analyse evidence of the full range of violations and abuses that can be directly used in competent criminal courts, whether at national, regional or international levels.”
- Wide shot: press conference room
- Various UN Human rights maps: Africa – Ethiopia- Tigray.
Hybrid Press Conference / Conférence de presse hybride
OHCHR
Subject:
Tigray - Joint investigation into alleged violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law committed by all parties to the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia – report by the UN Human Rights Office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission
Speakers:
- Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Chief, Africa Branch
- Françoise Mianda, Section Chief, East and Southern Africa
Date: 03 Novembre2021
Location: Geneva
Subject: UN Human Rights Chief calls for calls for accountability for violations and abuses by all parties in Tigray conflict
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the UN Human Rights Office have today published a joint report which examines the devastating impact the conflict in Tigray has had on civilians. The report details a series of violations and abuses, including unlawful killings and extra-judicial executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, violations against refugees, and forced displacement of civilians.
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We have reasonable grounds to believe that during this period, all parties to the Tigray conflict have committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. Some of these may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Civilians in Tigray have been subjected to brutal violence and suffering. The Joint Investigation Team uncovered numerous violations and abuses, including unlawful killings and extra-judicial executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, violations against refugees, and forced displacement of civilians.”
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) faced several security, operational, and administrative challenges in carrying out its work, in particular being unable to carry out all planned visits to parts of Tigray.
The report covers the period from early November 2020, when the armed conflict began between the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), the Eritrean Defence Force (EDF), the Amhara Special Forces (ASF), the Amhara Fano and other militias on one side, and the Tigrayan Special Forces (TSF), Tigrayan militia and other allied groups on the other, until 28 June 2021 when the Ethiopian Government declared a unilateral ceasefire.
The JIT conducted 269 confidential interviews with victims and witnesses of alleged violations and abuses, and other sources; and held over 60 meetings with federal and regional officials, representatives of international organisations, NGOs, community-based committees, medical personnel, and other sources.
The report states that there are reasonable grounds to believe all parties to the conflict - including the ENDF, EDF and Tigrayan forces - either directly attacked civilians and civilian objects, such as houses, schools, hospitals, and places of worship, or carried out indiscriminate attacks resulting in civilian casualties and destruction or damage to civilian objects. The JIT visited several locations In Tigray, including Mekelle:
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The family of four killed in Ayder, Mekelle as their house was shelled, reportedly by the Ethiopian National Defence Force, without any apparent military justification. The 26-year-old woman in Adiet who was gang raped by Eritrean Defence Force soldiers in front of her three-year-old daughter. The man in Mai Kadra attacked with machetes by the Samri Tigrayan youth group, shot in the back and thrown into a fire.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “And this senseless war has since continued and is escalating, engulfing increasing parts of the country. Every day more people are suffering and dying. Recent days have seen reports of continued shelling by the Ethiopian National Defence Force of the Tigrayan regional capital of Mekelle and further advances by Tigrayan forces into the neighbouring region of Amhara.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We are receiving continued allegations of serious abuses and violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law. There are reports of shelling and airstrikes resulting in civilian deaths, summary executions, large-scale displacement and a worsening humanitarian situation. I will shortly issue a brief update referring to some of the allegations we have been receiving since the June cut-off date of our report.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “While the majority of the violations documented between November 2020 and June 2021 appear to have been committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, we have since then seen an increasing number of allegations of human rights abuses by Tigrayan forces, as well as continued reported violations by Ethiopian and Eritrean defence forces.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We embarked on this joint investigation, at the invitation of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, to enable our teams to get first-hand information on the facts, to allow us to provide a faithful account of the situation in Tigray, and to assist in ensuring accountability.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The report is not an exhaustive record of all violations and abuses that occurred during the conflict, but it fairly illustrates the main types and overall patterns of violations and abuses. I am grateful to the many victims and witnesses who shared their experience and to others who provided pertinent information. Their voices speak in the pages of this report.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “
I want to amplify here today what victims and survivors of violations conveyed to our joint investigation team: they want their means of livelihood restored. They want reparations for their destroyed homes and all they have lost. They want to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones, for all sides to acknowledge their role in the suffering they have inflicted on them and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “A key concern of our report is due accountability. National authorities have the primary responsibility to deliver fair and independent proceedings that address the full range of violations identified, rather than isolated individual instances. If national authorities are not in position to do so, an international, independent investigative mechanism should be considered.”
SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Building on this joint report, such a mechanism could then take steps to undertake criminal investigations, and gather and analyse evidence of the full range of violations and abuses that can be directly used in competent criminal courts, whether at national, regional or international levels.”
Teleprompter
Good morning.
Thank you very much for coming and for those of you attending online.
I.
Just introduce **** Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
Also the.
Director of our Africa branch.
Marit Cohen and Sharif and the head of our East and Southern Africa section, Francois Meander.
So the **** Commissioner will make some opening remarks and both both Francois and Merritt will also make some opening comments and then we'll.
Take questions, we'll take.
Questions in batches of three, assuming there are three at a time, and perhaps go straight into it now, **** Commissioner.
Thanks, Rupert.
Good morning and and thank you for joining us today for the launch of this.
Important that I will add.
Devastating report Our joint report with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
Has today laid bare the turbo toll.
On civilians.
On the conflict.
Of Integrate from early November.
2020 when the armed conflict began until.
28th of.
June 2021 when the Ethiopian government declared unilateral ceasefire.
We have reasonable grounds.
To believe.
That during this.
All parties to the Tigre conflict have.
Committed violations of.
International human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.
Some of this may amount.
To war crimes and crimes.
Against humanity civilians in Tigre.
Has been subjected to brutal violence and suffering.
The joint investigation team uncovered.
Numerous violations and abuses, including unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions, torture, sexual and gender.
Based violence, violations against refugees and forced displacement of civilians the.
Family of four killed in I there Michele as their house was.
Shelled reportedly by the Ethiopian.
National Defence forces without any apparent military justification.
The 26.
Year old woman in.
Adyad who was gang raped by Eritrean defence.
Force soldiers in front of her 3 year old daughter.
The man in my Khadra attacked with machetes by the Samriti Grayan youth.
Group shot in the back.
And thrown into a fire.
And this senseless war has since.
Continued and is escalating.
Engulfing.
Increasing.
Parts of the country, every day more people are suffering and dying.
Recent days I've seen.
Reports of.
Continued shelling by the Ethiopian.
National Defence Forces of the Tigranian regional capital of Michele and.
Further advances by Tigran forces.
Into the neighbouring region of Amhara.
We are receiving.
Continued allegations of serious abuses and violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law.
There are reports of shelling and earth strikes.
Resulting in civilian death.
Summary executions large scale.
Displacement and a worsening humanitarian.
Situation I will shortly issue a brief update referring to some of the allegations we have been.
Receiving since the June.
Cut off date of our report.
While.
The majority of the violations documented between N2020.
And June 2021.
Appear to have been committed by Eritrean, Ethiopian and Eritrean forces.
We have since then seen an increasing number of.
Allegations of human rights abuses by Tigrayan forces, as well as continued reported violations that Ethiopian and Eritrean defence forces.
It is vital that all parties.
Heed the repeated.
Calls.
To end hostilities and seek a.
Lasting ceasefire.
As ever, there is an urgent.
Need.
For a serious, inclusive dialogue.
With a genuine intention.
On all sides to reduce tensions, avoid more civilian suffering and find peaceful solutions, leaders on all sides must refrain from spreading and should indeed actively counter messages.
Of hatred and incitement to.
Violence.
On the basis of inicity.
We embark on this joint investigation at the invitation.
Of the Ethiopian human rights.
Commission to enable our teams to get first hand information on the facts to allow.
Us to provide a faithful account of the.
Situation in Tigray and to.
Assist in ensuring accountability.
The report is not an exhaustive.
Record of all violations and abuses that occur during the conflict, but it fairly.
Illustrates the main types and overall.
Patterns of violations and abuses and I'm.
Grateful to the many victims and witnesses who.
Shared their experience and to others who provided pertinent information their voices.
Speak in the pages of this.
Report I want to amplify.
Here today what victims and.
Survivors of violations convey.
To our.
Joint Investigation team They.
Want their means of livelihoods?
Restored.
They want reparations for destroyed.
Homes.
And they have.
All they have lost.
They want to know the truth about what happened.
To their loved ones.
For all sides to acknowledge their role in the suffering they have inflicted on them.
And for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
The government of.
Ethiopia has has assured us that national institutions have begun investigations and prosecutions with some perpetrators already reportedly.
Convicted and sentenced there is.
However, a troubling lack of transparency, so we are concerned.
That investigations and proceedings conducted by Ethiopian National.
Institutions do not match the scope and breadth.
Of the violations we have identified.
A key concern of our report.
Is due accountability.
National authorities have the primary responsibility to deliver fair.
And independent proceedings that address the full.
Range of violations Identify rather than isolated individual instances.
If national.
Authorities are not in position to do so.
An international independent.
Invest.
Independent Investigative.
Mechanism should be considered building on this joint report.
Such a mechanism could then take steps.
To undertake criminal investigations.
And gather and analyse evidence of the full range of violations and abuses that can be directly used in competent criminal courts, whether at national, regional or.
International levels.
It is crucial that the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea ensure that those responsible for serious human rights violations are held accountable, regardless of the affiliation of the perpetrators.
I will now pass the floor to the Chief of Our Africa.
Branch married Cohen and.
Sheriff, who can brief you on the methodology and challenges faced in the course of this investigation, Over to you.
Thank you, **** Commissioner.
Good morning to you all.
Let me talk to you briefly through the objectives and the reasons behind the joint investigation, the methodology we used and the challenges that we faced.
The specific overall objectives of the investigation were comprehensively to investigate alleged violations of international law, provide accurate account of abuses and violations in Tigray, identify atrocity crimes and other serious violations with a view to provide redress for victims and prevent further violations, and provide clear practical recommendations to all parties to the conflict.
A joint investigation with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission enabled us to get extensive access to various areas affected in Tigre, to see for ourselves the impact of the conflict and the violations and abuses committed, and to conduct valuable interviews with victims and witnesses.
The joint investigation team consisted of 38 members, including 18 investigators and 9 specialists, legal advisors, A forensic expert, a military expert, gender advisors, child right advisors and others, both from the Office of the **** Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
And prior to the start of the investigation, the joint team agreed on the methods of work to guide the investigation on everything ranging from collection of information, verification, corroboration and assessment, the standard of proof, protection of victims, witnesses and others, information management and reporting and follow up.
And in carrying out its work throughout, the joint investigation was guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, objectivity, transparency, integrity and the principle of do no harm, including in relation to guarantees of confidentiality and the protection of victims and witnesses.
As you know, the investigation was conducted from 16 May to 31 August 2021 and the team conducted field missions to Mekele, Wucro, Samre, Alamata, Bora, Mychef, Dansha, Mycadra, Humera, Gonda and Bahidar.
The deployment to some locations in East and Central Tiger was not possible for security operational other reasons, but the team did interview people fleeing from those areas.
The team conducted 269 confidential interviews with victims and witnesses of alleged human rights violations and abuses and other sources.
The team held over 60 meetings with various government officials, regional federal authorities, representatives of UN agencies, funds and programmes, NGOs and medical personnel.
Now, in terms of challenges, I think the report elaborates in detail and really quite transparently the challenges encountered during the joint investigation.
Some of those included the harassment and intimidation of the joint investigation team members by regional security forces, especially in western and southern Tigray, the perceptions of mistrust of the UN and western Tigran in Amhara administered areas, as well as perceptions of bias against the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in some parts of Tigray.
Operational constraints included the communications shutdown in the Tigray region, the failure to date by government to release satellite phones procured for the investigation, difficulty in obtaining necessary security clearances and guarantees for travel owing often to the dynamic security situation on the ground, insufficient vehicles and other reasons.
The lack of engagement by or the written responses from some parties to the conflict to the Joint investigations Teams questions also presented a challenge.
There were other challenges encountered in interviewing victims of sexual violence, including the lack of medical records, family pressures, stigma.
But nonetheless, we're confident that the Joint investigation team was able, through the interviews it conducted, to collect a significant amount of information establishing patterns of sexual and gender based violence.
Of course.
And you will understand that a joint investigation between an international human rights organisation and a national human rights institution is a complex endeavour.
It presents unique challenges due to the different structures, reporting arrangement, but also in this particularly complicated conflict, social media both within and outside Ethiopia was replete with negative criticisms and propaganda, which is believed to have contributed to the hostility registered at least in four locations where the investigation was conducted.
But despite these constraints and while the report, as the **** Commissioner said, is not an exhaustive record of relevant incidents, the joint team was able to collect and corroborate a significant body of information and based on these facts, we have been able to assess patterns of violations and abuses.
We hope the report serves not only to amplify the voices of the victims, but also as a step towards further investigations and raises the alarm on gross violations and abuses that have been committed in the course of the conflict and serves to prevent further atrocities from being committed.
Thank you very much.
And now I'd like to hand the floor over to Francoise Mianda.
She's the chief of the Africa section covering East and Southern Africa.
Over to Francois.
Thank you.
Thank you, Maurita, and thanks.
Hi, Commissioner.
Good morning.
I would like to thank you for this opportunity.
Our last intervention will be related to to victims and as you know they've been the reason that of this joint undertaking.
The joint investigation enable us married say that to get really valuable first hand information about the situation on the ground.
Colleagues were able to visit different parts of Tigray and they were able to see from themselves the impact of shelling on houses, on schools, on hospitals, on churches, which were either have been targeted, subject to indiscriminate attacks or were used as military facilities.
As you know, thousands of civilians have been displaced and access to social services severely reduced.
The team had important opportunities to speak with victims and witnesses of violations and to convey the lived experience on of the impact of excuse me of this terrible conflict to their voices.
We see how every violation and ***** against one individual has a serious reverberating impact on entire families and communities.
For example, the team spoke to one woman whose daughter died and she was crying, saying that a daughter left her alone to to write.
The two sons behind victims of unlawful killings were disproportionately male, as they were more likely to be subjected to affiliation with an opposing party to the the conflict.
They were also more likely to actually engage in hostilities.
So the targeted killing of men left many women behind and they became single parents.
For example, a 19 year old survivor told how she and her 15 year old sister were were gang raped over a month because their father and brother they were fighting for the Tigran forces.
Other women told how they were raped in front of their children.
Some of these women have not received any medical care, physical or psychological.
Victims and families of abduction, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances suffered different forms of torture and ill treatment, including psychological trauma from not knowing the whereabouts of the beloved aunt.
And the conflict, as you know, also worsened the situation of thousands of Eritrean refugees that we, I mean, who were already in Tigre.
Many were killed, 1000 have been left in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
The intern and the Internet and phone shutdowns also restricted access to information.
Families were unable to know the status of their loved ones.
And in the words of one witness, it has turned my life upside down.
Due to the appropriation of food and crops, entire families were exposed to serious risk of anger and had to rely on other community members and humanitarian assistance in order to survive.
In several villages, following the looting of health centres, civilian lost their access to basic health care.
What we have seen since the end of the investigation is unfortunately the intensification of the conflict which increases suffering of civilians caught in the middle.
So we hope that hearing this first account, this first hand account of victims and witnesses will really galvanise all sides and the international community to ensure that the fighting stops.
Because at the end of the day, it's about the lives, it's about the integrity, it's about fundamental right of all Ethiopians be there from Tigray, from Afar, from Oromo, from Amara and so forth.
And maybe just as the **** Commissioner pointed out earlier, I would like to again say that victims and survivors of violations, they told the Joint Investigation team that they want restoration of the means of livelihood, they want reparation.
They are seeking for the truth about what happened to the loved ones from all side.
They want, they want all side to really acknowledge responsibility of what has happened and what is happening and for perpetrators to be brought to justice.
So in conclusion, I would like to say that this report should not be viewed as a stumbling block, but harder as a stepping stone for accountability.
We've heard the voices of victim.
It is now urgent to put an end to the suffering and move towards accountability.
I thank you.
Thank you very much.
Francois now.
If we can take the.
Questions in in groups of.
Three, I see we have.
Three online questions and one in the room.
So 2 in the room.
So let's mix them up so first.
Perhaps.
Hand up was Laurent Ciero of.
The Swiss new JS agency.
ATS Laurent of the floor, Yeah.
Thank you, Rupert.
Thank you for taking.
My question, have you established a list?
Confidential list of individual perpetrators.
As it is the case in, in some circumstances that could be.
Used by a potential triple.
IM and in any case.
Can you tell us whether?
****-ranking military official are responsible of some of these violations.
Thank you.
Thank you, Lauren.
Jamie, I think you were the first hand up in the room.
Jamie Keaton of Associated Press.
We can hear you.
Thank you very.
Much I'm Jamie from Associated Press.
I actually have two little questions.
One is which armed grouped which armed group?
Committed most of the abuses.
And if you can't say so, then please explain why.
And the second question is something that we just got in from the Ethiopian government, which has responded to the.
Report.
Saying that it is, quote, clearly established the claim of genocide as false and utterly lacking of any factual basis.
Is that true?
Thank you.
Thanks, Jamie.
And the third question, John Zaracostas.
France Venkat English service, yes.
Good morning, **** Commissioner.
I was wondering if you could celebrate the situation you had one of.
Your.
Officers expelled from Ethiopia, they're reporting an advocacy team leader from your office.
So what is the situation with that person?
Will they return to the country or are they still persona non grata?
And secondly, if you can comment on the number of.
Health facilities that were used.
In the conflict so far for abuses.
Sorry, perhaps we'll start.
With the the 1st.
Question from No but now.
I'm going to start with a question.
Then in certain organs, well, we.
First of all, I have.
To say to to your questions from AP that we.
Did not, we did not come under pressure from the government, first of all.
So while the report.
Does not explicitly mention that.
Ethiopian and Eritrean forces were responsible for the majority of the violations.
We do have a sufficient quantitative and qualitative picture of what happened during the period and the review on the basis of information collected for the report to suggest that that was indeed the case, however, given the impossibility of gathering full information from all areas.
It is impossible to put.
Precise numbers on any category of violations or on the relative scale on which they were carried out by the various parties on, on on on on the issue of genocide well in.
I think that in a number of.
Cases there were disturbing suggestion of ethnically motivated violence, but the report did not have sufficient evidence to characterise more generally the extent of the nature of the ethnic based crimes.
But they clearly warrant further investigation whether an individual committed acts intentionally directed at the destruction of.
Specific ethnic.
Group or such would be for the determination.
Of a competent Criminal Court.
That's so that's why the report.
Does not go into into.
That this was a human rights.
Investigation, not a criminal one, so as such it doesn't make findings concerning the criminal responsibility of specific individuals the approach we adopted.
Was the reasonable ground.
To believe standards of proof that is lower lower than the standard required in criminal trials.
But I would stress that this standard of proof is sufficiently.
****.
To legally require further investigations into the incident or pattern of conduct which could lead to criminal prosecution.
Of the alleged.
Perpetrators where there are sufficient indication of culpability, the joint investigation and was explained by all of us was meant to inform and possibly lead to other accountability processes so where required information can be used for criminal proceedings.
Oh, on the colleague, but yes, the colleague who was expelled from consider a persona non grata.
We have not yet.
Received.
Clear information of the reasons it was mentioned in general that all the people who were PNG were meddling in domestic issues.
We do not have any evidence that that happened with our colleague and.
We have not.
Received yet a clear information of the reasons of the colleagues of being PNG.
But he until now we have been.
Said that the situation will not be restored.
They they remain that to remain outside Ethiopia and so we are taking care of the colleague.
I think we are totally thank you.
Next question from Isabel Sacco of Spanish news agency FA Yes.
Good morning.
I I would like to know what are the communication that you have had?
With for.
Example the Eritrean government in.
Regards to the to the presence of the Eritrean forces in Tigray.
If they are, if you have asked them.
To withdraw their forces or or if they have proposed something regarding this.
And also I would like to to know your perception.
Of the of the conflict.
After all that you have seen?
And all the.
Victims that you have interviewed.
And.
The, I suppose the contacts that you have with the authorities and with the also with the the parties that are taking part in the in the hostilities, what are the the prospects?
In some way.
Of of this conflict.
From your point of view.
Thank you.
Thank you, Isabel Stephanie Nabahi of Reuters.
Just to just.
To go back to.
Sort of the 1st.
Line of questioning on the attributing blame for the.
The worst offences the report.
Does not seem to talk.
About some of the mass killings which have been reported and attributed to Eritrean state forces, can you?
Explain a little bit about the the sort of omission and do you?
Think that the report.
You know, fairly does it fairly layout the.
Proportion of violations.
Committed by each side.
There is there a fair representation and then.
Specifically on the error.
And the lack of reports on the Eritrean state and abuses.
Thank you.
Hello.
Yeah, we can hear you.
OK.
Sorry.
Yeah.
Thank you.
You alluded to concerns about the impartiality of the work of the.
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
You must be aware that there.
Are suggestions that it blocked some aspects of the investigation.
Or reporting on some aspects.
Could you comment whether that did occur, and if so, in?
Relation to what issues And secondly.
Could you also be quite clear?
Are you recommending now?
That the international community should set up an an investigative mechanism.
Thank you.
Well.
On the engagement with the.
Ethiopian and Eritrean government.
I think the I have to say that the joint investigation team.
Scheduled meeting with all parties.
To the conflict some parties.
Responded, while others did not.
Parties were also given an opportunity during the investigation period to respond to queries in writing.
The Ethiopian government in multiple.
Occasions noted its commitment to receiving the report and.
Recommendations on the joint investigation.
So we sincerely hope that the government will be.
Willing to implement their recommendations.
But as of today, we have not yet received any official response from the State of Eritrea on the joint investigation.
Team's request for a meeting or to the list of issues that.
Transmitted to the Embassy of the State.
Of Eritrea in Addis Ababa.
We have also not received any.
Indication from the Eritrean government.
Of openness to receive the findings and.
Recommendations on the joint investigation and we will continue.
To engage with the every.
Channel authorities in this regard.
In its response to the.
Joint.
Investigative team's request for a meeting.
The TPLF indicated its readiness.
To facilitate an independent investigation.
However, it expressed its opposition.
To the to the involvement of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission investigation and unfortunately has refused to meet.
Us as a joint team in, in the, in the thing of we, we the report, I think.
Presented.
The findings that we could, we we were able to.
To, to, to.
I would say collect, we're talking to the different witnesses with the victims and if.
You read the report.
You will see how in in how many times the Eritrean forces are really shown as the main responsibles.
For many of the violations.
Of human rights being it individual or massive, it is the report.
Is more a.
Chronological a narrative of what happened intending what the objective that merit said that we were looking for the report.
So you will see the, the, the huge, if I would say responsibility.
Of every chance soldiers and forces on that.
On the, on the, on the question, if we have asked them to withdraw, yes, we have done a lot of not.
Not in the John report.
Why?
We have done it in the our public statement since the beginning of the conflict.
We have been calling.
For of course, the end of hostilities and end of violence of and end of violations of abuses and and also we have been calling to for the.
Withdrawal of Eritrean forces.
We have also mentioned that to the authorities, to the Ethiopian authorities, the need to ensure they withdraw as soon as possible of the of the Eritrean.
Forces to insist to Eritrea.
On the need.
Of those soldiers to go.
Back home and stop the violence.
Stop the And of course, we have been calling in our recommendations to the Eritrean government also.
To.
Make all the processes of investigation of all allegations and to help account perpetrators accountable.
In terms of the perception of the conflict, what what we have seen is that we we continue.
Having situations on the ground.
That are really.
Complicated we we continue having.
We, we, we continue having air.
Strikes in in the last.
Recent challenge.
By the EDF of Mckelly.
And and and and we have received.
That the third.
Forces in Michele and surrounding.
Areas.
Between the 18 and 20.
Two of October.
We have also established that during those five days, three different locations in our or near in or near Michele were shelled, causing the death to three children and injuring 15 other.
Civilians on the 18th of October.
Three boys aged 9.
12 and 14 were killed as they were looking after.
Cattle by airstrikes on far line in the Aragina Kebbele.
Some.
It's like 15 kilometres from Michele.
Eight other civilians, including a father of two of the.
Deceased boys were.
Were injured in another incident.
The same day, 7 civilians, three men 4.
Women were injured by air strikes near.
Adihai Market Centre in McKellar and the Ethiopian government admitted.
Responsibility.
For it for the 20.
2 October air strike.
That did not cause any casualties, but not the 18th October one that resulted in the killing of the three.
Children and it claimed that the air strike targeted its former military base that.
Was now training base and a.
Battle half of the TPLF.
In Mackelia, we also have received reports of advances by Tigran forces in the South.
Wall of zone.
Of the Amara region, ongoing fighting and hostilities in and around Desi and Komolsia is understood to have resulted in large scale displacement and increasing humanitarian.
Needs.
And as.
As of 30th October, fighting was reported in Desi So.
Fighting was.
Fighting was also.
Reporting in Kombolscha.
Which is close by, and electricity and telecommunications have reportedly been cut in desi and kombolcha.
Since the 30th of October we have also received some allegations from the governments of killing of.
Youth in kombolcha on Sunday and Monday, but we.
Have not been able yet to.
Verify that, but some of these things will come.
In the next press release that.
Will.
Issue a little bit later.
And.
In on the questions.
Of and of course we.
Have been calling.
All parties to end.
Hostilities and end all violation abuses of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law well call them to end all forms of violence against women, girls, boys and men to end all acts of torture and I'll treatment to ensure.
This is something very important because there has been.
Difficulties on humanitarian access.
So we've been calling to ensure humanitarian access to all parts of Tigray and also to affected areas of Amara and Afar.
And we also think it's an indeed necessary to ensure prompt, impartial, independent, credible, transparent domestic accountability process.
And rate remedies but failing.
Those consideration should be given to an international mechanism.
So.
On the question of the New York Times, we I think if you read the report, they are the.
Facts.
They are the victims, they are the witnesses, so I think we should.
Focus on that.
Of course it is impartial.
Of course, it has been given, done, developed by a methodology that our office has provided has trained everyone.
We have a long group of experts who participated there, not from the office of regional office of Africa.
We hired them specifically to do the job forensics people, experts in gender based violence in girls, in children, so they could do a whole picture.
So we believe that the methodology.
Talks by himself, but the report talks by itself.
And I will invite you all and focus on the report, on the terrible findings and I can say it was done very seriously.
And of course.
We had the challenges at the Ostacle that Mario was mentioned in terms of not having access everywhere.
So that's why we say that.
Probably more investigations would should be needed when security possibilities permit on.
The recommendation of the investigative.
Mechanism, I think we are saying.
That in case that.
The the Ethiopian government has mentioned that they are making they have said and the reports mentioned that already 14 or 16 people has.
Been inducted.
By US perpetrators of **** and violence, violence against women, gender based violence, and the 2020.
More are ongoing trials.
But we have no information.
That's why we said that.
That we we don't.
Have enough transparency, we.
Feel that there's a bigger scope of of of violation of human rights that needs to be investigated and and and needs to have all the the criminal investigations and held perpetrator accountable and if that doesn't.
Happen, we think.
It will be needed a an international mechanism.
Probably there will be a special session on the Human Rights Council that they will ask me to brief them on this and they might be some decisions and resolution that in.
That moment.
Sorry, sorry, I say intersessional.
Briefing intersessional session.
Thank you very much.
Any more?
Questions in the room No.
Peter Kenny of All Africa, thanks.
For taking my question, I'd just like to make an observation first that journalists generally prefer to be able to ask questions one at a time.
They find that a more.
Transparent method.
I would like to ask Madam Sheriff if she could expand a bit on she spoke about intimidation of.
UN investigators and the.
Ethiopian Commissioner for Human Rights.
Could you say who was doing the intimidation?
Thank you.
Sorry Lisa Shine of VOA.
Yes, good morning and good morning.
**** Commissioner, I have a couple of questions for you.
First, have you received an official response from the government, Ethiopian government, to your report, to your investigation?
Then you indicated that the Eritrean government probably would not implement the recommendations that you have for for that government.
What about the Ethiopian government?
Do you believe that it indeed will implement your recommendations or do?
You see some hesitancy.
About that, Jamie indicated that it was already a response, which didn't signify great cooperation on their part.
If you could elaborate on that.
And then lastly.
The.
The government may not be deliberately, I don't know.
Is the government blocking humanitarian aid, deliberately blocking aspects of humanitarian aid to the Tigrayan people?
I know that some gets through, but all UUNUN.
Agencies consistently.
I hear them all the time and they're very upset they're not getting their aids through.
So is this a deliberate policy and is it a a form of a weapon of war?
Thank you.
Sorry.
Nina Larsen of AFP.
Yes, hi.
Thank you for taking my.
Question so I was wondering on.
The recommendation to possibly establish an international investigative mechanism, what you would like that mandate to be and if it should include investigating into the.
Allegations of of genocide.
Do you think that would be?
Included in that mandate and.
Along the same lines as what Lisa was asking, what about?
The use of deliberate starvation.
As a weapon of.
War would that also.
Be included.
Thank you.
Well on on the report information.
That we have is that intimidation to the joint investigation team was.
Done mainly by regional security forces that that's the that that's information we we don't have more more detailed information and do you have merit more detailed information because.
I mean, just to say that it could, it was a military also checkpoints and other issues and sometimes intimidation was more formal, informal, including of course by population, sympathetic to one side or the other when the team was travelling.
So that's what we would say.
Could I just mention there was a question earlier on health centre, OK.
And whilst we don't really have information about whether health centres were really used for violations or crimes as such, the report really documents, and I wanted to just draw attention to that, to the significant damage to many, many health centres in Tigray in particular, due to shelling, due to looting and the inaccessibility, 52% of the health centres only remain functional.
Only 40 out of 224 health centres in Tigre, and they're only in the bigger cities such as Michaela, Shira and Axum and on the main roads.
And the team really documented significant damage to health centres from shelling, from looting, from the absence and of course the absence of medical personnel.
So that that is a particularly difficult situation that we we, we should, you know, you can read about in the report.
Thank you.
Hi, Commissioner, back to you.
Yes, on on the question is.
We have received official response to.
The joint investigation well.
As you know, we when we prepare report.
And and even in a joint.
Report We.
Send the report to the.
Member State concern, so we.
Did send it to the Ethiopian government and.
They answer they gave us.
Comments.
We usually, but they also said that they want to speak publicly about it.
So, so we did receive these comments officially from the government and that.
Those.
Had been analysed and and look at it.
If they were because usually.
What we ask governments is to see if some facts are have any mistake.
That's that's the kind of thing but.
Of course we do not.
And if there are real.
Facts.
It could be, you know.
Introduce certain adjustment.
In this case was more.
The their interpretation of the issues and and their interpretation of certain incidents.
But we did receive a response we did not receive.
Any any response on any as I mentioned before.
On on the on the.
On the possibility of of asking Eritrean or.
TLF on on on that.
On the question of denial.
Of on Eritrea, the government will will.
If there is, they're going to.
Do we see if they're?
Going to really follow the recommendations.
Well, we they said in that official response that they will.
Look at this and they will analyse this.
And and will follow the recommendation, and we have been urging relevant parties to accept.
And act.
On our recommendations, OOTHI will also work on measures to, I would say to support the government towards accountability and required reforms to ensure compliance.
We'll also organise follow up consultation with Ethiopian authorities and parties willing to engage with a view to unpacking the recommendations and.
Following up with them on.
How best to support them in implementing the recommendations to bring about real accountability process?
We.
As I said before, I'm.
Expected to update.
Probably the Human Rights Council as a way of taking forward the outcome of.
The joint investigation we'll consider.
Briefing the Human Rights Council on the findings of the report during either an informal briefing or intersessional session on a variety of subjects.
Including Tigray of the idea of the.
Of the question on on denial of humanitarian access to humanitarian relief yes the the the conclusion that we have on this is that there.
Were access restrictions including multiple checkpoints by EDF?
And ENDF, which impeded or delayed the delivery of humanitarian assistance to part of Tigray.
And Amhara.
Region Tigray forces were implicated.
In setting up Rd.
Blockades that resulted in delay of humanitarian relief as well while the joint investigative team.
Could not confirm.
Deliberate or willful?
Denial of humanitarian.
Assistance to the civilian population integrate or to use the starvation as a weapon of war.
We recognise it needs for further investigation on alleged violations related to denial of of access to humanitarian relief.
And killings of humanitarian workers.
And that was.
The conclusions during the report, but we have tried to get some new information from the colleagues of the humanitarian actors.
And.
What we have said that up to 7 million people in Tigray and Mara and Afar are now in need of food assistance and other emergency support.
And this.
Include more than 5 million people in Tigray where an estimated of **** 400,000 are living in famine like conditions.
IPC five that means catastrophic level of food insecurity and the spread of the conflict to neighbouring Afar Ramara regions has caused large scale population displacements and increased food insecurity and protection needs.
But talking specifically to access.
That was the question.
Access restriction has drastically limited the entrance of life saving humanitarian supplies into Tigray as well as fuel.
Cash and equipment.
Needed to sustain operations Since the 18th of October, no trucks with humanitarian supplies have arrived into Tigray.
All convoys movement are on hold.
In Samara in Afar region.
Pending authorisation from the authorities.
Since the 12th of July.
Only 15% of the trucks.
That is 1100 and.
14 trucks needed have entered the region, an estimated hundred 100 trucks with.
Food, non food items and fuel must enter Tigray.
Daily to meet critical humanitarian needs.
Fuel for the humanitarian?
Response had not entered Tigray since early August, forcing partners to suspend OR.
Significantly reduce humanitarian programmes and since the 22nd.
Of October.
Flights have been suspended following the incident, with an an an humanitarian flight destined for.
McHale McHale was aborted due to her strikes.
So this means that cash.
For the human internal operation can now be transported any longer.
And movement of aid personnel.
Is restricted.
And on the on the final.
Questions of.
Of of of of the inclusion of a recommendation.
I think it's.
The we have urged the government to do their.
Work.
They follow the recommendations.
They will.
They need now to.
Show that they are really.
Taking seriously those.
Recommendations, they are really taking seriously the need for accountability and and bringing perpetrators accountable.
We will be monitoring that.
Situation.
And of course it will be.
Up to Member State after we inform them to.
Define if.
What if there's enough?
Progress or if there is a need for a sooner in the in international independent investigation, we do believe that it's a need.
For even domestic, international in independent investigations in case that does not happen.
We will be looking forward to for international independent mechanism.
OK, like Mr to leave shortly.
I just will say the update on the situation since the 20.
8th of.
June and the current situation in in Ethiopia, we'll go to you around 11:00 PM today.
So in about 45 minutes, perhaps we'll take one last question.
Sorry, 11 AM 1 follow up question I see from Lisa Shrine.
So I think we'll take that as as the last question.
I don't see any other hands.
So Pisa.
Thanks, Rupert.
Yeah, it's a follow up.
On my first question to you actually about the response of the government to your report, nobody likes to be criticised, individuals or people or whatever, but generally what sense did you get?
Did they accept your findings or were they pretty much in in or were they pretty much in denial or hostile to many of your findings and the accusations that that you make in in your report about their actions or did they tend to justify, largely justify this conflict?
Yeah, thank you, Isabel.
I was just trying to get because last information from our colleagues from.
Addis because the Prime Minister, I mean, in the response that we got, the comments they did said that they're going to accept.
It but the important thing is that the Prime Minister.
Has just issued a statement saying that they.
Accepted the report.
And they're going to follow.
The the recommendations.
And I think that's good.
News.
So thank you very much.
Hi, Commissioner.
So I think we'll one Jamie, you want another question?
All right.
One very last question.
This is associated.
Press a follow up.
Question, thank you.
I just wanted to.
I know that you mentioned the press.
Released for this event since the 28th of.
June they're going to be, but we're not going to get that.
On camera so.
Could you just sort of like lead into that?
I think you meant 11 AM, not 11 PMAM.
Yeah, OK.
The and and.
Just to be.
Clear on this because you know we've had a.
Number.
Of United Nations human rights office reports on various situations, whether they be in Yemen or in Syria, and very often we get this sort of theme that both sides have committed abuses or violations or even atrocities.
In some cases.
And I just.
Want to make sure?
If we can get very clearly from you.
It looks like.
We're at another.
Type of situation like that where there are.
But you know a lot of people.
Would like a.
Bit more clarity on.
This especially from you as.
You know, as investigators, so.
Can you give us really the?
Takeaway that you have about which side you really believe may have in your own words off of the.
Text that you had prepared, but you know, in your own words, you know.
Where does the responsibility really?
Lie.
For these problems and Tigray.
Thanks.
Well, first of all I I need to say that.
All parties are involved.
Because all party needs to stop doing it.
First of all, that's the main thing.
Secondly, of course, in the.
.
During.
The that the report was.
Including in its analysis.
I would say that.
The big numbers of violence of human rights are.
Linked to the Ethiopian and Eritrean defence.
Forces but.
We have seen that censuses of fire there has been huge.
Allegations of abuses by the Tigran forces and continue until today.
Unfortunately, we also see that all parties continue.
Violating.
Human rights until today, so.
So that's why, having said that, we can see that.
Different periods can show a little bit different trend.
We need all parties to stop hostility, all parties to stop violence.
And and and and and.
Violations of human rights.
And and we need.
All by everybody to take responsibility on this and do.
What they have to do and that's why we are giving recommendation.
To all parties, especially of course on, on, on governments because it's a state their their main responsibility always to ensure the protection, but here we do.
Have non state actors.
But there are different military forces and militias that are violating human rights.
They.
Also need to be.
To be responsible and stop all the violations of human rights.
Thank you very.
Much so I think we'll end it there and thank you all for attending and for your attention to the report individual.
Instances.
If national authorities are not sure that the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea ensured that those responsible for seriously one.
Including 18 investigators and 9 specialists.
Legal advisors of foreign national information.
Verification for.
Operation assessment, the standard of proof Almata Bora my chef Dansha my card was not possible for security operation.
Other reasons, the team representatives of UN agencies, funds and programmes, NGOs and medical personnel planes included the communication shut down in the Tigray region.
The failure to date by government.
There were other challenges encountered in interviewing victims of sexual violence, including the land.
Also, in this particularly complicated conflict, social media, both within and out and serves to prevent further atrocities from being committed.
Thank you very much.
Place and access to social services severely reduced daughter left her alone to to write the two.
Sons.
Behind wait over a month because their father and brother different forms of torture and ill treatment, including psychological toll.
The Internet and phone shutdowns also restricted access to information conflict, which increases suffering of civilians caught in the middle, not fundamental rights of all Ethiopians.
B-day from Tidway.