MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the recent humanitarian and human rights situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, notably that of children

4.10.2022 - (2022/2858(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Jan‑Christoph Oetjen, Nicola Beer, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Dita Charanzová, Olivier Chastel, Klemen Grošelj, Bernard Guetta, Svenja Hahn, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Karen Melchior, Dragoş Pîslaru, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Michal Šimečka, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Ramona Strugariu, Dragoş Tudorache, Hilde Vautmans
on behalf of the Renew Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0429/2022

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0441/2022

European Parliament resolution on the recent humanitarian and human rights situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, notably that of children

(2022/2858(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on Tigray and Ethiopia, and in particular those of 26 November 2020 and 7 October 2021, 

-  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

-  having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

-  having regard to the fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War from 1948 and its additional protocols from 1977 and 2005,

-  having regard to the United Nations Human Rights Council report A/HRC/51/46 “Report of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia” of 19 September 2022,

-  having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC),

-  having regard to Rules 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure.

 

 

1. Whereas this 23 month lasting conflict has triggered a man-made crisis and this wide-scale human suffering is entirely preventable; whereas on 24 August 2022, a bombing by federal war planes of a kindergarten in Mekelle Tigray, resulting in child casualties, announced renewed warring between federal and Tigrayan forces after a 5 month truce;
2. whereas women and children are continuous targets of intended and non-intended bombings, shootings, killings and other acts of violence in the framework of war and ethnic violence by all sides of the conflict;
3. whereas rape and other sexual violence of women and girls continue to be widely used by all the belligerent parties in addition to death threats, the use of ethnic slurs, and capture in conditions of sexual slavery; whereas internally displaced refugee women and children are at a heightened risk of being abducted and trafficked for sexual exploitation;
4. whereas nearly half a million Ethiopians have died from violence and famine, and more than 1.6 million people have been displaced by this conflict; whereas since the beginning of the war, thousands of civilians have been forcefully displaced, exposed to unlawful killings, sexual violence, mass arbitrary detention, pillage, abduction and the denial of humanitarian assistance and basic services, looting of aid, deflecting of aid to soldiers;
5. whereas one out of three Tigrayan children under the age of 5 are malnourished; whereas some 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia, nearly three quarters of them women and children;
6. whereas humanitarian workers are targeted with violence by all belligerent parties to the conflict; whereas at least 23 humanitarian workers have been killed since the conflict started;
7. whereas government forces and officials harass and threaten humanitarian workers and national health providers that support survivors of sexual violence;

 

1. Reiterates the urgent call for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia, most notably in Tigray and the neighbouring regions, without preconditions;
2. Calls for the urgent unrestricted humanitarian access to all those affected by the conflict in the region;
3. calls for an immediate return to constitutional order and for the establishment of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism;
4. strongly condemns the deliberate targeting of civilians by all the belligerent parties and the reported recruitment of children by certain warring parties; recalls that deliberate attacks on civilians, the targeting of children and the recruitment and use of child soldiers constitute to war crimes and crimes against humanity;
5. Calls on all authorities in Ethiopia, most notably the federal government and that of Tigray, Amhara and Afar to adhere to the highest human rights standards and to address with priority the egregious war crimes committed against boys and girls and to protect its youth under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC);
6. is dismayed by the reports of rape and crimes of sexual violence against children, women and men which have been perpetrated on a staggering scale by all the belligerent parties; recalls that rape and sexual assault are considered war crimes and a breach of international humanitarian law; is highly concerned and calls immediate attention to reports of the killing and maiming of Tigrayan, Amhara and Afarian children on grounds of ethnicity - actions which constitute war crimes and ethnic cleansing;
7. emphasizes the importance of guaranteeing access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for all girls and women in Ethiopia, particularly in light of the current supply shortage of contraception; urges the EU and the Member States to increase support for SRHR services and specifically contraception and access to safe abortion, with special attention to ensuring access in regions in Ethiopia affected by war and humanitarian disaster;
8. Calls for action against abduction, trafficking and sexual exploitation of refugees and internally displaced persons of Tigray, Amhara, Afar and Eritrea, and to ensure assistance and protection of all victims, without discrimination on grounds of race or ethnicity, nationality, disability, age, gender or sexual orientation;
9. is concerned by the reports of an increase in child marriages and child labour, human trafficking and transactional sex as desperate means to survive in regions in Ethiopia affected by war and humanitarian disaster;
10. recalls that extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, acts of torture and ill-treatment, forced displacement, sexual and gender-based violence, rape and gang-rape, attacks on aid workers, attacks on civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, and destruction and looting of public and private property constitute to war crimes under international law;
11. reiterates its call on forces on all sides to respect international human rights, international humanitarian and refugee law; calls on the Ethiopian federal government and Tigrayan regional government to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes committed during the ongoing conflict; Insists on cooperating with local and international actors to work towards ensuring redress for survivors and victims of all forms of war crimes;
12. strongly condemns the use of starvation as a method of warfare; recalls that an obstruction to food and healthcare and a denial of these services amount to crimes against humanity; Recalls that humanitarian aid and assistance is non-partisan and independent;
13. reiterates its call to fully re-established basic public services such as electricity infrastructure, banking services, schools and hospitals as well as to immediately lift restrictions on telecommunications in Tigray;
14. Urges the EU and its Member States to increase support of (emergency) rehabilitation centers for women and children, which protect and rehabilitate survivers of gender-based violence, human trafficking, and (sexual) exploitation; emphasizes the importance of providing shelter, psychosocial services, and vocational training for survivers and calls for the strengthening of existing shelters;
15. strongly condemns that the state of emergency has led to ethnically motivated arrests, harassment, beatings and the targeting of journalists with violence and intimidations by federal government forces that continue without remorse; calls for the immediate release of all journalists who remain in arbitrary detention and to ensure freedom of expression and speech;
16. expresses concern for the safety and well-being of independent humanitarian workers in the region; strongly condemns all acts of attacks on humanitarian aid workers, on critical infrastructure and the continuous seizures of UN humanitarian supplies;
17. reiterates its call on the Ethiopian government to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; stresses the need for an external, independent and impartial mechanism to address ongoing violations and accountability;
18. Condemns the invasion of Eritrean forces into the region of Tigray; Condemns the war crimes and human rights violations by Eritrean forces throughout the war in Ethiopia;  urges the Eritrean government to withdraw its forces with immediate and permanent effect from Ethiopia and to ensure accountability for its war crimes;
19. calls on all the belligerent parties to immediately end hostilities and to reach a formal ceasefire agreement; welcomes the Tigray leadership statement on 11 September 2022 to be ready to abide by an immediate ceasefire and enter peace talks under the African Union;
20. reiterates its call on the EU and its Member States to adopt measures to protect human rights and to adopt sanctions against perpetrators of human rights violations through the Magnitzky Act for Human Rights Violations;
21. supports the postponement of budget support disbursements to the Ethiopian government by the European Commission since December 2020; calls on the European Commission to continue its life-saving support in the region, aimed at civil society and independent humanitarian organizations but to step up its efforts to ensure the safety of children;
22. deeply regrets that the UN Security Council fails to address the situation in Tigray in an effective manner; urges the EU and its member states to increase pressure on the UNSC to hold regular public meetings on Tigray and to take meaningful and decisive action to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, advance protection of civilians, to end and condemn grave violations of international law, and to ensure accountability for atrocities; calls on the Security Council to consider the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission to the region;
23. recalls that in its resolution S-33/1 “on the situation of human rights in Ethiopia”, adopted on 17 December 2021, the Human Rights Council decided to establish, for a period of one year and renewable as necessary, an international commission of human rights experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE); urges the EU and its Member States to support the allocation of adequate funding by UN to the ICHREE;
24. Recognizes the findings of the UN Human Rights Council Report of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (A/HRC/51/46) of 19 September 2022, which documents incidents of war crimes; Calls on the Commission to evaluate and utilize the conclusions and recommendations and on the Ethiopian authorities to recognize these results in an effort to restore human rights protection and work towards redress of victims of war crimes;
25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the VP/HR of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Federal Government and House of Federation of Ethiopia, the Tigrayan authorities, the Government of the State of Eritrea,  the governments of the IGAD, the African Union and its Member States, the Pan-African Parliament, and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.