Eight months of war in Tigray (Ethiopia), massive human rights violations, allegations of massacres, the use of starvation and sexual violence as weapons of war: the EU must act to stop this, said all MEPs in a plenary debate on the evening of Tuesday 6 July, considering, as does the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council and the European Commission, that the top priority is to obtain full humanitarian access from the Ethiopian authorities.
For eight months, the messages from the EU, including the European Council, have been very clear and remain the same: - ensuring access; - calling on all parties to protect civilians; - withdrawal of Eritrean troops; - a lasting political solution to the conflict with an inclusive dialogue, said Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar on behalf of the EU Council.
Although Ethiopian forces are withdrawing following the rebel offensive, fighting continues, albeit at a lower intensity, he noted. Welcomed by the EU as a first step, the government’s unilateral ceasefire, declared on 28 June, must therefore be consolidated, and humanitarian aid must be delivered (see EUROPE 12753/31).
Ninety percent of the population is in need of emergency aid, and 900,000 people are threatened with starvation. However, there are worrying reports that aid is being blocked, the Slovenian minister lamented.
The situation in Ethiopia will be on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 12 July.
“The EU remains deeply concerned”, said EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič. He spoke of more than 5 million children in need of emergency assistance, 2 million displaced people now at risk of starvation, and 1 million people on the verge of “man-made famine - a disgrace”. Deliberate denial of access by armed forces, deportations of refugees to Eritrea, and destruction of crops are also war crimes, crimes against humanity, Lenarčič said.
“Since the ceasefire was announced, Tigray has been cut off from the world. Critical infrastructure is damaged, a flight embargo has been imposed, and telecommunications have been confiscated. Aid workers are not allowed to enter. The voices of millions are silenced. This is not a ceasefire, but a siege. The atrocities are continuing”, lamented the commissioner. He also assured MEPs: “We are ready to take concrete steps with international partners to find a mechanism to facilitate aid in the Tigrayan zones that are under control and to resume dialogue”.
Michael Gahler (EPP, Germany) said that those responsible in Addis Ababa should be asked to use the airports and also to call for a UN investigation into war crimes.
Austrian MEP Hannes Heide, whose Social Democrat group had called for the debate, said “access for all humanitarian organisations must be guaranteed, and the EU should adopt targeted sanctions against all those responsible for the suffering and massacres”.
According to Bernard Guetta (Renew Europe, France), “our Union must contact the African Union to try to lay the foundations for a historic compromise. This is an emergency for Africa, an emergency for us”.
MEP Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France) said “we need clarity, a better understanding of who is responsible for what, and humanitarian aid”. She called on the EU to put its weight behind the Ethiopian authorities’ acceptance of humanitarian access and to establish an international enquiry into the root causes of the conflict. Spanish MEP Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left) has called for an investigation into the deaths of three MSF aid workers.
“The army is attacking women, children, humanitarian workers”, said Beata Kempa (ECR, Poland). She deplored the fact that the unilateral ceasefire had not led to any results. She added, “The attacks are continuing against one ethnic group. Humanitarian aid has become a tool for pressure against the Christian minority. We must act to stabilise the situation”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)