Ethiopia: UNICEF – Children in Tigray in acute need of protection and assistance (12.02.2021)

Home to about 170,000 residents, Shire now hosts at least 52,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), and more arrived on each day of the mission.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, February 12, 2021 – As more supplies and emergency personnel reach crisis-affected people in Tigray, an incomplete but troubling picture is emerging of severe and ongoing harm to children.

Between February 4 and 7, a UNICEF team accompanied by the Regional Health Bureau Head traveled from Mekelle to the town of Shire in Central Tigray, with six trucks filled with 122 tons of emergency supplies. This was the first UN mission to Shire since the conflict erupted on 4 November 2020.

Home to about 170,000 residents, Shire now hosts at least 52,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), and more arrived on each day of the mission. There was no drinking water, as the town’s water treatment plant is not functioning, so UNICEF and ICRC are trucking water to residents and IDPs. Many IDPs are sheltering at schools, none of which are operational. Conditions at the displacement sites are dire – the few toilets are broken, there are no showers, and there is very little safe water. Many families were separated as they fled, and there were many unaccompanied or separated children among the IDPs.

Many families reported deep psychosocial distress and said they did not feel it was safe to return home, speaking of a persistent and pervasive fear of present and future harm.

The hospital in Shire was partly operational. Two out of four health centers were providing outpatient and maternal services, and one health facility has resumed some vaccinations. Staff have received partial payments of their salaries. Outside the town center, only one of seven rural health facilities assessed was functional; the others had been damaged or looted and staff had fled. Immunizations ground to a halt three months ago and the town’s entire stock of vaccines was damaged due to power cuts. Electricity is restored, but the city still experiences frequent power cuts.

The IDPs said their most urgent need was for food. One assessment conducted by partners found the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition – which is potentially life threatening, especially when combined with diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, or measles – at 2.1 per cent. This is above the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold. The very real risk of disease outbreak, coupled with poor access to water, sanitation, hygiene and health services, rising food insecurity and inflation in food prices, poses grave threats for malnourished children.

The mobile network, internet and banking services were still not operational.

UNICEF has dispatched 655MT of supplies including emergency health kits, therapeutic food and high energy biscuits, and personal protective equipment, and more supplies are en route. As of the end of January, other areas of UNICEF’s emergency response in cooperation with government and other partners in Tigray and neighbouring regions included:

  • Screening over 465,000 children below five years old for malnutrition, and providing lifesaving treatment to over 2,750 of children found to be severely malnourished;
  • Reaching over 137,000 people including refugees, displaced persons and host communities with water supplies and services;
  • Providing over 5,400 adolescent girls and women with dignity kits.

The partial picture emerging of the impact the crisis in Tigray has had on children – and the systems and services they rely on – make clear that children are in acute need of protection and assistance. Crucially, the humanitarian community still needs to get beyond major cities and towns into the rural areas, where most of the population live, in order to have a true picture of needs.

Above all, children must be protected from harm.

Ethiopia: After visiting Tigray, IFRC President calls for increased humanitarian response (10.02.2021)

Addis Ababa/Nairobi/Geneva, 10 February 2021 – The President of the world’s largest humanitarian network has ended a visit to Ethiopia’s Mekele city in Tigray region with a plea for increased humanitarian response to better meet the needs of people affected by recent fighting.

Speaking at the end of his five day visit to Ethiopia, Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said:

I am very concerned about the conditions that I saw during my visit, including people internally displaced by the fighting, especially children, their mothers and the elderly. It was clear to me that people in Tigray need much more support than they are currently receiving.

While there have been positive announcements by a small number of aid organizations in recent days in this regard, it is my hope that more aid can begin to arrive consistently. We need to scale up humanitarian operations. We need to do much more to bring help to those who desperately need it.”

In particular, President Rocca raised concerns about the impact of the fighting on medical services, noting that hospitals he visited were lacking even basic medical supplies. He also shared serious concerns relayed by local health officials about rising levels of serious malnutrition.

An assessment by the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, found that more than 2.6 million people in Tigray and the adjacent regions of Amhara, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz and SNNPR need humanitarian assistance. According to the Ethiopian Red Cross, primary needs among affected people in Tigray include food and basic relief items, water and sanitation, medical supplies and technical assistance for mobile clinics.

Mr Rocca also spoke of the compounding impact that the Tigray crisis has had on other vulnerabilities in Ethiopia, as well as in neighbouring countries. By the end of January 2021, an estimated 200,000 people had been internally displaced in Ethiopia alongside 60,000 people who have fled into Sudan. In addition, there are at least 230 Ethiopian refugees in Djibouti.

Mr Rocca further mentioned the heavy humanitarian caseload that was already confronting Ethiopia and surrounding countries, and the subsequent need for coordinated and comprehensive action by aid organizations:

The Horn of Africa is facing chronic multiple crises, including widespread and severe food insecurity, and massive locust swarms that have contributed to further crop losses.

The region is also grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic which, among other impacts, has led to the closure of schools. More than 6.4 million children are now without school meals and this has worsened malnutrition considerably.”

In response to the situation in Ethiopia and surrounding countries, the IFRC, the Ethiopian Red Cross, the Sudanese Red Crescent and the Red Crescent Society of Djibouti are jointly appealing for 27 million Swiss francs. This funding will allow Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff to assist 660,000 people, including the Ethiopians who are internally displaced and those who have fled into Sudan and Djibouti.

The operation will focus on supporting families to maintain their livelihoods and meet basic needs, the provision of clean water and improved sanitation facilities, the delivery of health and psychosocial support services, and efforts to strengthen local Red Cross and Red Crescent capacities to prepare for and respond to future emergencies.

Ethiopia: Government approves ‘first step’ towards Tigray emergency assistance (09.02.2021)

Around 60 more humanitarian workers from the UN and non governmental organizations are awaiting approval in the capital Addis Ababa for deployment to Tigray.

NEW YORK, United States of America, February 9, 2021 – UN agencies have received approval from the Ethiopian Government for 25 international staff to provide humanitarian assistance inside the country’s conflict-torn Tigray region, the UN Spokesperson said on Monday.

“This clearance is a first step towards ensuring that aid workers in Tigray can deliver and ramp up the response given the rapidly rising needs in the region”, Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the daily press briefing.

He recalled a number of positive engagements between the Government and senior UN officials, including with Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Gilles Michaud chief of UN Safety and Security and most recently, David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).

“Mr. Beasley has just wrapped up a trip to Ethiopia and he says that WFP has accepted the Government’s request to help authorities and aid partners transport aid into and within Tigray”, informed Mr. Dujarric.

Moreover, WFP has also agreed to provide emergency food aid for up to one million people in Tigray.

The conflict between the Government and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began in early November, when the Prime Minister ordered a military offensive after rebels attacked a federal army base. Government forces reported that the region had been secured at the end of November, but TPLF resistance has continued amid accusations of extrajudicial killings and rights abuses.

Escalating humanitarian needs 

Meanwhile, around 60 more humanitarian workers from the UN and non-governmental organizations are awaiting approval in the capital Addis Ababa for deployment to Tigray.

They also look forward to rapid authorizations for any further requests put forward.

“While we welcome these clearances, we remain deeply concerned about the significant escalation in humanitarian needs in Tigray, where people have endured more than three months of conflict with extremely limited assistance”, said the UN spokesperson.

He also expressed unease over continued reports of grave violations against civilians.

“We reiterate our call for the full resumption of free and unconditional access for humanitarian supplies and personnel to the Tigray region”, Mr. Dujarric said, adding that it should include “blanket clearances” for organizations operating in the area, “so that we can immediately reach all the people in need with all the assistance they urgently require”.

Ethiopia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Press Release on Recent Statements of the European Union Regarding the Humanitarian Assistance Efforts of the FDR of Ethiopia in the Tigray Region (09.02.2021)

National Council of Eritrean Americans: Ill-Advised Statement Points to Failed Policies of the Past (07.02.2021)

Ethiopia: Joint UN-Government Tigray mission highlights humanitarian needs and path forward (06.02.2021)

ADDIS ABABA/ROME – Today, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, Catherine Sozi, and the Federal Minister of Peace of the Government of Ethiopia, Muferihat Kamil, completed a joint visit to Mekelle in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, aiming to highlight the need for strong partnership to rapidly scale up a Government-led collective response to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of people in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region.

Mr. Beasley commended the emergency food assistance that the Government and partners have already provided to the people of Tigray since the onset of the crisis, reaching almost 1.7 million people with emergency food distributions. 26,000 Eritrean refugees residing in two camps have also received food and nutrition assistance.

“But we must do more, together, to meet the needs of the population,” said Mr. Beasley, noting with concern that, “Latest preliminary estimates indicate that 2.5 to 3 million people in the region require emergency food assistance. Reports indicate that the nutrition situation requires greater attention, with young children and pregnant and lactating mothers the most vulnerable.”

Minister Muferihat indicated that the Government of Ethiopia has welcomed recent positive engagements with the Government by senior UN officials, including the Under-Secretary General for Safety and Security, the High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

“To ensure that humanitarian assistance in Tigray can be expanded and intensified without delay, the Government is moving with urgency to approve requests for international staff movements into and within Tigray, “ said the Minister, adding that, “Several such requests have been approved over the past few days and the process of rapid and streamlined approvals will continue. The Government will also review visa requests for international humanitarian staff with urgency and priority. Communication capability for UN and humanitarian partners with significant operations in Tigray will be enhanced.”

Confirming the critical importance of enhanced operational presence and communication capability to allow UN agencies and humanitarian partners to scale up humanitarian interventions in Tigray, Ms. Sozi said, “These recent and anticipated developments related to staff movement approvals and communication capability will allow international agencies to design and manage operations safely and responsibly, in close partnership with the Government. This is a tremendous step forward.”

Mr. Beasley announced that WFP has accepted a request from the Government to augment the transportation capacity of the Government and partners to deliver humanitarian assistance into and within Tigray. WFP has also agreed to provide emergency food relief assistance to up to 1 million people in Tigray and launch a blanket supplementary feeding intervention to assist up to 875,000 nutritionally vulnerable children and pregnant and lactating mothers.

These agreed WFP contributions will require USD 107 million to be implemented over the coming six months in areas and communities jointly identified and prioritized with the Government based on joint assessment where feasible.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

Opinion: Mzee now thinks civic education equates to destabilizing the country…

Part of this money is to support and facilitate various groups and entities in Uganda to conduct what they called deepening democracy in Uganda. The President and government think that this money was brought to distabilise the country. So that is the gist of the concern of the President and the investigation will tell us the money trail and what it has done” – Ofwono Opono in an interview (Ali Twaha – ‘Government links DGF suspension to politics’ 05.02.2021, New Vision).

The suspension of the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), which is directly funding over 70 Civil Society Organization/Non-Governmental Organization and also their various of programs was suspended by the President in January 2021. As the President and the government was preparing to go to the polls and it had already hold grudges towards civil society for so long. This is the latest attempt to crucify and assault the ones working for a better governance in the Republic.

We know that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni doesn’t want to listen to others. Neither does he want the input from anyone else either. However, he don’t mind free-money and slush-funds to spend as he see fit. That is why he goes after the DGF as it is a fitting “enemy” which he cannot directly control or have his hands in the cookie-jar.

Government Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo is saying it deliberately. They are calling it destructive. Because, they are undermining the “personification” of the state, which happens to be the President. The DGF’s civic education and programs are working indirectly to build sufficient institutions, policies and reforms, which in the end will weaken the power of one man. It would in the end be for good governance and accountable state organizations. Not just be ordered from “high above”. That is why OO and President is speaking ill of this. This will in the end weaken their drive and total control of the state, in the manner, which things are done today.

The “destabilizing” effort is indirectly weakening his reign and rule. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) have no troubles getting direct aid and grants for their government to run. However, they have trouble having the same donors paying for salaries, programs and civic education across the Republic. That shows a double standard and that the President have no trouble eating of the plate directly, but doesn’t want to be told how to be accountable for his eating. He wants to spend money, but don’t want to show recites. That is the memo I am getting from this.

It shows that his a weak man. The President and the government have had no issues taking money from Western donors like the ones who funds the DGF. If they are so afraid of the independence and the questions of usage of funds. The government shouldn’t accept any funds with possible sting attached. The state shouldn’t take loans or grants from the outside. If the donors cannot sustain organizations (CSOs/NGOs) who works with other ideals than the President at this current day.

That is the reality of this all. There is no free lunch. It has never been so. There is always something attached and expectations of an outcome. If you borrow money to build a road, the lender hope you build the road, but also repays the loan with interests. If you take a donation or a grant, then its expected to go to a certain organization or work, which is beneficial for the ones receiving it. That is just a mere reality we all know.

Now, the ones receiving it wants to directly control the funds and how it is spent. When it was funds, which wasn’t his in the first place. They are worried of the efforts and effects these organizations have in the Republic. However, we all know that the President just want to eat and don’t bother with questions. This is why he has retaliated, because he can and he want to show strength. Nevertheless, these acts are an act of a coward. A coward who has taken money all his life, but now cries foul. It is a bit late when you been eating for over three decades and never caused a fuzz. Peace.

Somalia: Fartaag Research & Consulting Open Letter – International Accountability Demand Letter (23.01.2021)

Ethiopia: Remarks by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the press conference in Addis Ababa (01.02.2021)

Greetings everybody. I conclude tonight my fifth visit to Ethiopia as UN High Commissioner for Refugees and at the outset I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government for having facilitated his visit, and for the exchanges that I have had with its members, starting with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the President, the Minister of Peace and other officials. Ethiopia, as you probably know is one of UNHCR’s most important partner countries, a country in which we have worked for decades, and more importantly a country, and that’s the reason why we’ve been here for so long, that has hosted for those decades millions of refugees: 800,000 – 900,000 at the current count.

And not only that, but Ethiopia is a country that has been quite exemplary in many aspects of refugee assistance, and it is for this reason that have 2019, I came to Addis to invite the Prime Minister to be one of the five co-convenors of the Global Refugee Forum that we held in Geneva at the end of that year. That of course was due to some very innovative policies inaugurated by this Government here in Ethiopia in respect of refugees, both at the legislative level and the operational level.

The purpose of my visit of course here was to follow up on the very critical situation that has developed as we all know in the past couple of months in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, with the focus on the overall humanitarian situation in the region, but also in particular on the situation of Eritrean refugees that are hosted there. I think you have all seen statements that I have made in the past few months. I thought that the time had come, and the Ethiopian Government agreed, that the time had come for me to come and exchange frankly, as I did, views on the situation and looking at the way forward. I did not of course meet only the leadership of the country, but I also met my UN colleagues, NGOs international and national, Civil Society Organizations, refugees themselves, and other diplomats, donor partners and other important actors here on the ground.

I would like to add that I was also able to travel to the Mai Aini refugee camp in southern Tigray, together with the Minister of Peace and the Director General of ARRA. ARRA is the Ethiopian National Refugee Organization, our counterpart in the country. This took place on Saturday and I want to thank the Government for that.

My conclusion before I take off tonight. The humanitarian situation in Tigray, I think I will say something that everybody knows, but I think it’s important to repeat it, is extremely grave. People need all possible forms of support: food items, non-food items, medicine, clean water, shelter. The closure of the banking system, of the telecommunication system has added to the hardship of thousands of people, so the restoration of services is a very big priority and the United Nations as you know also estimates that hundreds of thousands, figures are difficult put forward in this situation, have been displaced and continue to be displaced. There has been some progress in the security situation as we have heard from the government, although some isolated or scattered incidents continue to happen, but of course we have observed, and in some areas we continue to observe, violence carried out by various armed elements and militias, but also as often is the case in these military situations, by criminal elements and this has resulted in looting, in violence, sexual violence, in rape. Unfortunately, as you know, also six humanitarian workers have lost their lives in in recent weeks.

So, the first message that I have shared, I must say to receptive ears of the Prime Minister, to Deputy Prime Minister and other interlocutors is very important: conflicts impact severely on civilians and whilst it is not in my place to make more political judgments, this is not my role, I have a responsibility to tell the Government that we’re here to help minimize and eliminate the impact on civilians of these situations.

There are many people, as we saw in Mai Aini, and other colleagues have seen in other places that have been very severely traumatized and need support, and what we have heard from the provisional authorities in Tigray, there was by the way another UN mission that visited Mekelle on the same day in which I was in Mai Aini, led by the Under Secretary General for Security of staff, and that mission focused on that particular aspect of our work and there was a very strong appeal by the temporary authorities for more help to come on the part of the international community to help address these needs. The same is heard by many colleagues of mine in the UN and among the NGOs from line ministries from the Health Ministry, the Water Ministry, that we need to step up assistance. The situation as I said is very grave is very urgent. Without further action it will get worse. I do want to appreciate what the government is already doing to address this situation, and reiterate that the UN and the international humanitarian community is ready to help and step up and I think that this step up, and they said this to the Prime Minister, is very important if we want to avoid a further widespread suffering of people. In my experience if you don’t attend to this escalating humanitarian crisis the needs become so acute and so big and huge that it is much more difficult to address. We still have time, I guess, in spite of all the suffering that has already happened, to intervene now and this is why I really welcome the very constructive discussions in this respect that we’ve had with the Government.

It is very positive that clearances were obtained in recent days to deliver cargo to the warehouses in Tigray in particular in Mekelle. I think that the next step is really to make sure that these goods, this cargo, food in particular, but also non-food item gets out and gets to the people who need it in the civilian population in all parts of the country, and I was very happy to hear the Deputy Prime Minister talk about the need to make joint assessments between the UN, the NGOs and the Government so that we can further refine our intervention. We talked a lot about needs, relief, access. Now we need to become more specific, where it is possible to do it and most urgent, we need to go there and do it and this needs some assessment and needs movement.

This of course leads me to the very important issue that I have been discussing very frankly with the Government and that my colleagues here have been discussing with the Government for quite some time since the agreement in November: access is fundamental for the UN and NGOs. There are 16 UN agencies and 25 NGOs that have submitted requests for clearances. What I have discussed with all interlocutors, the Minister of Peace, Deputy Prime Minister but also the Prime Minister, is the importance to have an access management system, a clearance management system, that is fast, that is efficient and as close to the field operations as possible. I mean my experience in these situations is that the situation can be easily volatile, insecurity can move, so it is important that these procedures are very agile that they ensure the security of humanitarian workers. This is an important responsibility of the government and the government is taking it seriously, but that it does not limit access to the point where access is insufficient, as it is the case right now. So, we need to strike a balance there, and I think that we need to put in place, and I heard, clearly, from the Deputy Prime Minister a commitment that these access procedures will be very quickly made as flexible and effective as possible, and we will follow up on that.

On the specific issue of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, as I said on Saturday I visited the Mai Aini refugee camp. You know, I think everybody knows, but for the sake of those who don’t know, there were four refugee camps, Eritrean refugee camps in Tigray before the beginning of November: two in the north Hitsats and Shimelba and two in the South of the region, Mai Aini and Adi Harush. We visited the southern ones in fact Mai Aini one of the southern ones, and we met and spoke together with the Minister of Peace and her delegation, we met and spoke to the refugees residing. Some, most of them have resided for many years, maybe up to ten years in Mai Aini, but we also were able to meet some of the almost 3000 refugees that have now been relocated or have relocated themselves from the other two camps Hitsats and Shimelba. Now we know that, everybody knows, that in those two camps they were theater of conflict they have suffered severe destruction of infrastructure and damage and also most likely severe abuse on the refugees that were caught in the crossfire especially at the beginning of the operation and that those refugees have fled. This was a very traumatic situation for them in particular but also for the refugees in Mai Aini and Adi Harush who expressed to us their fear for their future. They said we don’t want to have the same situation happen here, and I was glad to hear the Minister of Peace assure them several times that the situation in these two southern camps was secure, they were welcome there and that they would be supported and assisted.

Those that we spoke to that were coming from the two other camps reported issues of very much concern to us. They reported that they had been cut off, as we know, from support and assistance for several weeks. Some of them told us and told the Minister that they had resorted to eating leaves because there was no other food, but they also spoke about, especially at the beginning as I said being caught in the crossfire that was at the beginning of the military operation, and they also spoke of infiltration of armed actors in the camps, of killings, abductions and also some forced return to Eritrea at the hands of Eritrean forces present in the areas. Others reported that other refugees had chosen themselves to return to Eritrea given the insecurity prevailing in the area.

We heard many reports, not just on Saturday but also on other occasions and of course this is a situation of great concern these abuses and the strong appeal that I made to the Government, and I think this came loud and clear during our visit, is that it is very important that these abuses if they still happen, it is very difficult to tell without access, must be put to an end. Especially deportations are of course as we know quite a violation of international law as I have flagged to do the authorities.

Now the priorities therefore are as follows looking forward: first of all, I raised this and we had very frank constructive engagement with the government on this issue, it is urgent that we get back in touch with those refugees that are still dispersed from Hitsats and Shimelba. We estimate they might be somewhere between 15 and 20,000 people, perhaps a little less, that are dispersed in areas where we do not have access. Whilst relocation to the southern camps continues, I think that we need to accelerate that operation, and in order for that to be accelerated and bring people to safety away from the insecure areas it is important that we the ARRA, the Ethiopia Refugee Organization with our support that we have access to those areas.

The Prime Minister told me that he understood very well this important priority for us, that he would personally follow up to ensure that this would happen, and we discussed this in more detail with the Deputy Prime Minister. So, we will continue to follow up on this particular issue.

Meanwhile, another big priority is to scale up assistance in Mai Aini and Adi Harush because they will be receiving more people. ARRA has told us that they will negotiate with local authorities to find the space to accommodate a larger population and we will continue to work together to ensure that.

Now there is a broader issue of course, generated by these allegations of violence and abuse that refugees I would say Eritrean refugees all over the country as we heard in Mai Aini, as we hear here with urban refugees in Addis Ababa, all over the country are now in a situation of anxiety and fear. They fear that the hospitality and protection that Ethiopia has given them for a long time is going to shrink or diminish and I have raised this in all my meetings, and I am happy to have heard that this is not the case. The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Peace, told me that the commitment of Ethiopia to protect Eritrean refugees continue to be undiminished and I think it is important that this is known and repeated to send a message to reassurance to all refugees around the country.

I want to add a few elements. As you know last November after the beginning of the military operation, I went to Sudan at the border with the Ethiopia to meet the Ethiopian refugees who were afraid of the situation in Tigray and that were crossing over into Sudan. That number by the way has now exceeded 60,000 refugees. What I heard there, and I spent quite some time, a couple of days, speaking to the refugees in a way mirrored what we heard from some of the Eritrean refugees but of course in a slightly different context.

We heard of course the fear of fighting, this is a very natural fear of any civilian population but we also heard the fear of abuse and violence not at the hands of the Federal forces but at the hands of militia, irregular militia, and I shared this view with the authorities today. Most of them, I have to tell you, most of them told me that they wanted to return to Ethiopia fairly quickly and of course UNHCR stands ready, and we discussed this today with the authorities, to support this return provided of course it is a free and voluntary choice of the refugees, something that Ethiopia fully respects but I also advised the government here that we must address this issue of abuse by individuals or by groups if we want to encourage these people to return. It is very important that the Government says and continues to say that people are welcome back. I think that if this issue of violence is addressed, the Deputy Prime Minister explained to me how a plan is being rolled out to diminish any irregular violence and reestablish law and order in the area, I think that this would constitute a good context for people, it will encourage at least some people to go back feeling safe feeling that they have the security and support that they need.

Let me repeat it again many people want to return. They are missing or have missed the harvest their left behind the houses belongings they have fled many times in haste, so it is important that this is addressed as a matter of urgency. It is also as part of the peacebuilding process which I heard the Government is intending to embark upon after the military operation or even now as the military operation continues, I think it is important also to address these allegations that we have heard of violence at the hands of militias, of foreign forces, of others. I was very pleased to hear even in the camp when I visited with the Minister of Peace and then from other authorities a commitment by the Ethiopian Government to investigate what has happened.

My main priority, our main priority, is to gain access to deliver aid and protection, ensure the safety of everybody now but it is also important, and I have seen it in so many conflict situations, that also what has happened might be addressed in full transparency. This is not my mandate, this is something more in the domain of human rights, but my strong recommendation having seen this over and over again, is that the Ethiopian government in full transparency conducts this investigation, this investigation needs to be as impartial and credible as possible, to fulfill what they need to fulfill, bring to accountability the people that may be accountable whichever side or whichever group they belong to, but also at the same time to ensure that there is a due process of redress for what has happened to reassure the civilian populations that have been impacted. By the way, you know, there is a lot of noise on social media in the public domain around these issues. When you visit like I did on Saturday, you realize that the situation is very complex, that there’s been a lot of crossfire, a lot of violations on all sides, and all this needs to be impartially investigated by those who will do it, and I think it is very important as the impact of the conflict on civilians or of the operations on civilians is investigated that refugees are also included in this investigations.

My final point is that the Government is rightly concerned that we need resources to respond to this crisis, and I would like to flag and to continue to run all other operations humanitarian and development operations in this country. I remind you that UNHCR alone with ARRA is dealing with South Sudanese refugees in Gambella, with Somali refugees in the Somali region, with Sudanese refugees in Assosa, that although the IDP population in the country has decreased in other regions other than Tigray there are still areas of IDP operations that need to be supported and I think that for this of course international assistance is necessary. I told the Government that access to people in need, presence of international organizations in support of the national effort, all these will be very welcome sign of building costs and encouraging the international community to support also financially the operations of the Government, of the United Nations, and of NGOs. You know that the United Nations has appealed for one 170 million dollars specifically for operations in Northern Ethiopia, there has been a good response, 65% has been funded, but we need more to come through because the needs in my opinion will escalate as we go forward. In Sudan as well we have appealed for the refugees there for about $150 million, almost half of that amount has been contributed including a recent and very substantive American contribution but once again we need to have those efforts supported until we come to a solution of this crisis and hopefully we move forward along all the directions that I have outlined. Many thanks.

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