The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and human rights in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, reported Africa News.
“The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern about allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including reports of sexual violence against women and girls in the Tigray region, and called for investigations to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” the UNSC said in its first joint statement on the continuing crisis.
The 15-member body appealed for boosting humanitarian response in Tigray to address humanitarian needs.
“For the first time, this Council speaks with one voice to express its collective concern about the dire humanitarian situation on the ground,” said Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland’s ambassador to the UN who led negotiations.
The Security Council has discussed Tigray’s situation behind closed doors several times before but had not been able to agree on a statement, because of opposition from some of the member countries.
The UNSC also expressed their strong support to regional and sub-regional organizations, including the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and underscored the importance of their continued engagement.
Last week during a closed UNSC meeting, the U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said about 4.5 million of Tigray’s population is in immediate need of humanitarian aid. He said it is estimated that around 91% of the population needs emergency food.
He said the UNSC received the report of four displaced people dying from hunger earlier this week, and a report of 150 people dying from hunger in the Ofla district, located south of Tigray’s capital Mekelle, on Thursday.
Mark said the reports of people dying from hunger is a sign of what lies ahead if immediate action is not taken.
“ Starvation as a weapon of war is a violation,” Lowcock said in his briefing.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s mission to the UN said in a statement that the situation in Tigray is completely an internal affair regulated by the laws of the country, including human rights laws.
