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sarcasm
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Ethiopia rejected the African Union's Independent Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in Tigray

Post by sarcasm » 18 Jun 2021, 07:48

AU forms team to investigate Tigray atrocities despite Ethiopia's protest
THURSDAY JUNE 17 2021

The African Union has launched its commission of inquiry into human rights violations in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, even as Addis Ababa protested the creation of the first continental effort to investigate the conflict.

A statement from the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa said the team formed under the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights will begin preliminary work in Banjul, the Gambia, after which it will travel to the region to speak with locals.

But Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly rejected the move, indicating the AU body was engaging in work that is “out of scope” with what Ethiopia had asked for.

Demeke Mekonen, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, said his country had invited the Commission to conduct a joint investigation with the local Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, but the continental body delayed coming on board. The local rights team has been conducting investigations already.

“It is, however, regrettable to note that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights made a unilateral announcement on the establishment of a “Commission of Inquiry” which is completely outside the scope of the invitation by the government and lacks legal basis,” the Ethiopian Foreign Minister indicated.

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