In a Press Briefing today, the spokesperson of the Ministry, Ambassador Dina Mufti, disclosed that the government established an inter-Ministerial committee “comprising high-profile and skilled law enforcement personnel to implement the recommendations” of the joint OHCHR-EHRC investigation report.
The spokesperson said some individuals, including members of the national defence force, have already brought before justice and prosecuted.
“The UN Human Rights body, regrettably, decided to rerun the UN-EHRC joint investigation incurring an unnecessary duplication of efforts and undermining the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission,” said ambassador Dina.
“The proposed investigative works of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts should have also taken the demands of Ethiopians to investigate the human rights abuses committed by the TPLF in the Afar and Amhara regions into account too.”
The spokesperson said the government has also taken confidence-building measures to pave the way for dialogue and lasting peace in the country.
These steps he said, include the lifting of the state of emergency before its due date, the release of high-profile prisoners, the proposed all-inclusive National Dialogue.
“The government’s decision not to enter the Tigray region after the TPLF forces were pushed back from the areas they had invaded in the Amhara and Afar regions, was also among the measures, he added.
Ambasador Dina said the government also declared an indefinite humanitarian truce and is cooperating with humanitarian partners to scale-up the delivery of support, including food and fuel, to the Tigray region.
However, he said the “laudable peace initiatives of the federal government of Ethiopia could not be met with equal commitment and determination from the TPLF side.”
The TPLF is preparing for another round of conflict, according to the spokesperson of the foreign ministry.
“The international community should exert enough pressure on the TPLF to renounce its anti-peace activities,” he added.
