The U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday picked the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to conduct an impartial investigation into allegations of violations and abuses of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law committed in Ethiopia.
Since November 3, 2020 Ethiopian federal troops and rebellious Tigrayan forces including fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition for nearly 30 years have been at war with each other.
Thousands of civilians have died and millions have fled in the conflict.
Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian national who was chief prosecutor at the ICC between 2012 and 2021, will lead the panel of three, the council said in a statement.
The three-person Commission is to “establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations and abuses, collect and preserve evidence, to identify those responsible, where possible, and to make such information accessible and usable in support of ongoing and future accountability efforts”.
According to Gedion Timothewos, the Ethiopia’s Minister of Justice, “they will cooperate with any investigation “focused on the genuine promotion and protection of human rights.”
“There is light at the end of the tunnel and the Ethiopian people in their collective wisdom will opt for peace and reconciliation,” he told the council in Geneva.
The TPLF also welcomed the council’s move to investigate atrocities.
The 47-member body mandated the Commission to build upon the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and to make recommendations on technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia in support of accountability, reconciliation and healing.
