ReliefWeb: Women’s Refugee Commission Alarmed by Ongoing Human Rights Abuses in Northern Ethiopia Conflict
ReliefWeb highlighted a statement from Gayatri Patel, vice president, external relations, Women’s Refugee Commission, in reaction to a joint report from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released Wednesday, November 3, documenting brutal human rights abuses against women and girls, including the widespread use of sexual violence by parties to the conflict intended to degrade and dehumanize their victims, in the northern Ethiopian region in Tigray. The joint investigation found reasonable grounds to believe the abuses committed amount to violations of international human rights, humanitarian, and refugee law, and potentially war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report details incidents of rape, including gang rape, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, killings, torture, and violence against refugees, including destruction of refugee shelters. The report’s findings also shed light on how blockades have obstructed humanitarian relief from reaching those in need, particularly women and girls, which has had dire implications on access to lifesaving supplies such as medical support and food. For those surviving sexual and gender-based violence, the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services and psychosocial care in particular has heightened their trauma.