Ensuring Protection in Ethiopia
In January 2022 UAI marked the occasion of Ethiopian Christmas by
calling for urgent initiatives to address the causes of the conflict that
had then been raging for 14 months. We called for immediate steps to
meet essential needs for protection and assistance, and we identified
several issues common to many modern conflicts that required urgent
international attention.
Six months after that statement (link to UAI statement of January
2022), UAI renews these calls. In a linked blog, published today, Angela Raven-
Roberts places these urgent messages in their political and socio-
economic context. She identifies opportunities to intensify actions to
promote peace and security. We repeat our call for further
international focused action to address specific areas of crisis and
need, under the following three headings:
I. Peacebuilding
UAI calls for:
- Cessation of all hostilities, withdrawal of all foreign troops, and
implementation of ceasefire agreements. - Support for a widening of the National Dialogue process to
broader participation of representatives of political parties,
armed groups, youth, women, elders, faith-based organizations,
and media - Support for peace-building initiatives led by local communities
to re-build confidence among neighbours of different identities - Sufficient long-term funding for relevant constitution building
agencies such as the Forum on Federations to ensure their vital
contributions to constitutional reform - Long term funding for civic and media organizations promoting
peace and knowledge sharing on indigenous community peace
building and reconciliation practices.
II. Humanitarian Assistance and Protection
UAI calls for:
- Accelerated funding and access for humanitarian aid to besieged
and drought affected regions. - Restoration of communications and basic services to Tigray
- Establishment of African Union (AU) or other mutually agreed
protection mechanisms in Western Tigray and other contested
areas
III. Human Rights and Justice
UAI calls for:
- Scrupulously independent investigations of alleged atrocities by
all sides in the conflict and agreement on mechanisms for
accountability for crimes committed - An end to the use of hate-filled rhetoric to demonize ‘others’
- Urgent initiatives to identify ways to prevent the unregulated
use of social media platforms to amplify the reach of hate-filled
messages
The International Executive Committee
United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
July 2022
