The Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on Thursday dismissed calls by Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Acting Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonen to discontinue its northern Ethiopia war rights violation probe.
Remy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairman of ACHPR, said the Commission can’t be added as a third-party investigator to the previous rights violation probe undertaken jointly by the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“We have our own mandate, we have our own work. Our work could be added on previous probes and one day you could know what really happened in Tigray,” Remy told a press conference in Addis Ababa.
Remy further said the Ethiopian FM’s criticism won’t prevent the ACHPR from continuing to undertake its own probe into rights violation in the northern Ethiopia war.
On Wednesday, speaking at African Ministers gathering at the African Union (AU) Headquarter, the Ethiopian FM criticized the ACHPR for conducting “unliteral investigation” disregarding Ethiopia’s invitation for “joint investigation” with national institutions.
Demeke further warned the Commission “not to undermine” the AU led peace process on the Northern Ethiopia war.
He also warned the ACHPR “not to undermine” the Pretoria peace agreement signed between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) last November.
The ACHPR is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collecting people’s rights throughout the African continent.
The Commission is also tasked with interpreting the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and considering individual complaints of violations of the charter.
The ACHPR headquarter is based in Banjul, the capital of the west African state of Gambia.
