© 2021 Finbarr O’Reilly/The New York Times/ReduxTo Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights CouncilExcellencies,Ahead of the Human Rights Council’s 54th regular session (September 11- October 12, 2023), we, the undersigned civil society and human rights organizations, are writing to urge your delegation to ensure the Human Rights Council adopts a resolution that extends the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (“the Commission,” or ICHREE) for a further term of one year, until September 2024. In light of the ongoing dire human rights situation in Ethiopia, which requires the Human Rights Council’s continued attention, it is clear that now is not the time to change the Council’s approach and reduce independent investigations and evidence gathering work in the country. An August statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights suggests that arrests, detentions, and displacement of Tigrayans in the Zone are continuing. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that at least 183 people have been killed in fighting since July. While the Ethiopian government has accepted human rights monitoring activities by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, it is important that their findings also be publicly reported.

Source: Ethiopian News September 07, 2023 12:09 UTC