The tragic humanitarian situation and massive human rights violations in Tigray, Ethiopia, were discussed by EU Foreign Ministers in Luxemburg on 11 June as a matter of particular concern, after the rejection of any humanitarian ceasefire while hundreds of thousands of people are threatened with starvation (see EUROPE 12740/14).
“We considered the situation in Tigray, in Ethiopia, where humanitarian ceasefire has been rejected and human rights atrocities are alarming pushing an estimated number of 400,000 persons to a man-made famine”, the EU diplomatic chief, Josep Borrel, told the press after the meeting.
Ethiopia will be again put on the agenda of the next EU Foreign Affairs Council next month, the High Representative announced.
In a statement issued on Friday 18 June on behalf of the EU27, Mr Borrell also noted “an important step”, namely that the majority of Ethiopian voters are invited to participate in the elections on 21 June, noting that “some constituencies will vote later, partly due to security and logistical problems”.
He therefore called on “the government and local and regional authorities to ensure a transparent and secure” as well as democratic process. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)