Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Oral Update on the Situation of Human Rights in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia
Joint Statement Delivered by the Delegation of the United States of America
Human Rights Council – 48th Session
September 13, 2021
As Delivered by Bob Riley, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission
Madame High Commissioner, this statement is delivered on behalf of 48 countries.
We underscore the importance of your joint investigation and call for the report to be released without delay.
We remain gravely concerned by ongoing violence in northern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government and regional authorities’ cutting off of Tigray – and the TPLF’s expansion of the conflict into neighboring regions – have caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
We are deeply concerned by numerous reports of Eritrean Defense Forces’ engagement in serious human rights abuses, and we call on them to withdraw immediately.
We are deeply concerned about the killing of civilians and humanitarian workers, as well as sexual and gender-based violence and attacks on Eritrean refugees and displaced persons in Ethiopia.
Those responsible for human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law must be held accountable.
We call on all parties immediately to allow and facilitate safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access.
We also urge the Ethiopian government and TPLF to enter ceasefire negotiations without preconditions.
Will you brief the Council on the findings of the report once it is released? Thank you.
- United States of America
- Albania
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Korea
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom