To:
United Nations- Human Rights Council (UN-HRC,
@UN_HRC );
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR,
@UNHumanRights); Diplomatic Missions in Addis Ababa (Embassies and Multilateral Diplomatic Groups); African Union (AU) Commission on Human and Peoplesโ Rights (
@achpr_cadhp); and Human Rights Advocacy Organizations and Media Outlets
RE: Urgent Call for Attention to the Ongoing Grave Human Rights Violations in Tigray
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The Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) is gravely alarmed by the escalating human rights abuses in Tigray following the March 2025 overthrow of the Interim Administration by the TPLF faction, backed by military commanders.
Despite initial hopes that the current Tigray Interim Administration (TIA), led by President General Tadesse, would steer Tigray toward peace, recovery, stability, and democratic transition, this opportunity has steadily deteriorated, and the human rights situation has now reached a tipping point. The ongoing forced and illegal leadership change in Southern Tigray (Raya) against the will of the people, including the use of masked soldiers, has resulted in widespread forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, unlawful removals from office, intimidation, terror, and suppression of self-administration. Similar violations have been reported and persist throughout Tigray, such as in the Southeastern Zone, Eastern Zone, Tembien, and Northwestern Tigray.
Under President Tadesse Werede, the TIA has fallen under the full control of a narrow political faction within the TPLF, and with its president reduced to the role of a protรฉgรฉ. The gains achieved under former TIA President, Getachew Reda, including a relatively inclusive cabinet, media freedom, free movement, the right to assemble and protest, and space for divergent views, have been severely rolled back, creating an increasingly toxic and repressive political environment that threatens peace, stability, the rule of law, human rights, good governance, and the prospects for a smooth democratic transition. Consequently, the people of Tigray, already enduring deep pain and trauma from years of war, continue to live in fear and terror, facing systematic oppression, political hostage-taking, and the denial of their fundamental human and civil rights.
The ongoing politicized, military-backed, and state-sponsored human rights violations flagrantly contravene the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, Articles 3, 9, 12, 13, 19, 21, and 23), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, Articles 6, 9, 12, 19, and 25), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, Articles 6, 11, and 12), and the Ethiopian Constitution (FDRE Constitution, 1995, Articles 8โ26 and 43), and encompass the following abuses:
1. Extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, intimidation, mass arrests, and social isolation of civilians accused of supporting political reform, sympathizing with the former interim administration, holding dissenting political views or exercising their fundamental rights and demanding self-governance;
2. Coercive political cleansing and dismissal of civil servants from all levels of government: the systematic removal and exclusion of individuals and communities from political life and public employment based on their beliefs, affiliations, or activities, including the deliberate targeting of communities perceived as resisting the imposed political agenda;
3. Suppression of political rights and freedom of participation: the denial of citizensโ rights to engage in political life, participate in decision-making, or freely express dissenting views;
4. Illicit activities contributing to human rights abuses: including large-scale land grabbing, illegal gold mining (often involving toxic chemicals), illicit trade, smuggling, human trafficking, and embezzlement of public resources; and
5. Restriction of civiliansโ freedom of movement: imposed by military forces, further isolating communities, disrupting economic activities, exacerbating humanitarian crises, and compounding the suffering of war-affected and already vulnerable populations.
These violations undermine the rule of law, deepen political polarization, exacerbate instability, and inflict severe and widespread suffering on the people of Tigray.
In light of these egregious human rights violations by the Tigray interim administration and its allied military and political forces, the GSTS respectfully urges your offices to:
1. Immediately and publicly condemn the ongoing human rights violations committed by the interim administration and allied military and political forces in Tigray;
2. Employ all available diplomatic and political mechanisms to secure an independent investigation into these human rights violations, ensuring justice and that perpetrators are held accountable; and
3. Exert every possible effort to prevent the Interim Administration from using military force to intimidate or suppress civilians, including their rights to seek self-administration, access fundamental government services, and exercise their basic rights (such as freedom of expression, freedom of movement, political participation etc).
The GSTS strongly appeals to the OHCHR, diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa, the ACHPR, and other human rights advocacy organizations to exercise their moral and institutional authority to urgently protect the fundamental rights of the Tigrayan people and prevent further abuses.
The GSTS stands ready to actively collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, including international organizations, diplomatic missions, and human rights bodies, to provide accurate information, support independent investigations, and contribute to efforts aimed at protecting human rights, promoting accountability, and restoring peace and stability in Tigray.
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