Ethiopia: Immediate Priority is the well-being of the people of Tigray - Press Conference

Joint Press Conference by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the Chairperson of the African Union, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, following the Fourth United Nations-African Union Conference.

Secretary-General António Guterres today (9 Dec) told reporters that the “immediate priority” in Ethiopia was “the well-being of the people of Tigray and ensuring those in need urgently receive humanitarian assistance,” as well as “ the swift resumption of the rule of law, in a secure environment and in full respect for human rights, paving the way for a true and lasting reconciliation.”

Following his participation in the Fourth UN-AU Annual Conference, Guterres said, “together with our African Union partner, and others in the region, we stand ready to provide full support to Ethiopian-led initiatives to encourage inclusive dialogue and foster reconciliation.”

The Secretary-General said, “this is the moment to have a serious discussion with the Ethiopian authorities” on those issues and added that in discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “there was a full acceptance by the Prime Minister of the need to move into that direction.”

Responding to a question from a reporter, Guterres said, “we have no proof of the presence of Eritrean troops inside Ethiopia,” and noted that he had “confronted” Ahmed with that question and he had “guaranteed to me that they have not entered Tigrayan territory, that the only area where they are is the area that corresponded to the disputed territory within the two country that in the peace agreement was decided to give back to Eritrea.”

On the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for a vaccine “to be a global public good available to everyone, everywhere and particularly, available in Africa.”

He said, “most African countries lack the financing to adequately respond to the crisis, due in part to declining demand and prices of their commodity exports.”

Guterres said, “if Africa is not properly supported, we will not be able to fight the pandemic anywhere effectively,” and “the only way” is to ensure that the COVAX initiative is financed.”

He encouraged “everybody that has access to the vaccine to be vaccinated,” adding that “it is a service not only that we provide to ourselves, each one of us being vaccinated provides a service to the whole community, because we are no longer spreading. There is no risk of spreading the disease. So, vaccination is for me a moral obligation in relation to all of us.”

Africa has so far registered more than 2,200,000 cases and over 53,000 deaths from COVID-19.