By Samuel Ouma
A civil society monitor has released a report showing that the eight-month-old Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) struck between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is hampered by substantial loopholes affecting civilian security.
Entitled Ethiopia Watch: Civil Society Monitor of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the report noted that Eritrean troops remain present in parts of Tigray, where they are accused of killing civilians, committing sexual assaults and perpetrating forced disappearances.
The report also revealed how unrest in Amhara and, to a lesser extent, Afar has persisted and increased due to non-signatories to the peace treaty.
It was noted that the destiny of politically contentious territory in Western and Southern Tigray is not explicitly addressed by the deal, despite being obviously a driver of ongoing alleged ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray, instability, and war in the neighbouring Amhara area.
”The limitations in the agreement threaten to unravel the progress made so far, and the African Union policy organs can and must fortify the agreement to ensure sustainable peace in Ethiopia,” said Achieng Akena, Executive Director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative, also a member of the civil society coalition that established the mechanism.
According to the report, Article 4 of the CoHA requires the parties to denounce any act of sexual or gender-based violence. However, there has been little or no public condemnation by the parties of sexual violence by their own forces, either since the CoHA was signed or during the fight.
It further described how women were conspicuously absent from the formal delegations of the parties to the peace talks.
”The level and brutality of gender-based violence committed by all parties to the conflict make it imperative that women and girls play a central role in the peace process and any transitional justice process,” said Annah Moyo-Kupeta, Executive Director of The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, which is also a part of the civil society coalition.
The 26-page report also uncovered an alarming lack of openness in the official AU Monitoring, Verification, and Compliance Mechanism (AU-MVCM) operation. According to the report, AU’s monitoring team operates with scant resources and a limited mandate.
It also looked into the plight of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs), who are in desperate need of more support and security, noting that IDPs, who have no legal right to education, health care, housing, or jobs, are at the mercy of the people and communities who help them.
“While remaining in situations of protracted displacement, many Internally Displaced Persons and other vulnerable populations face inequality particularly in access to basic services, housing, land and property. The Ethiopian Government must support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in achieving a durable solution of their choice to their displacement,” said Davis Malombe, Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
It also validated the conclusions of multiple press stories about Ethiopian and Tigrayan officials’ systematic diversion of food handouts.
‘‘The Federal Government and the TPLF must abide by their commitment under the CoHA not to divert food aid and assistance and should both urgently investigate persistent reports of such diversion and hold perpetrators to account,’’ said Abdullahi Halakhe, who is the East, Horn and Southern Africa Senior Advocate with Refugees International.
Furthermore, 2.3 million children were reported to be absent from school in April 2023, and despite school re-openings in May 2023, they are not fully able to return due to numerous impediments.
Therefore, the civil society group has urged African Union authorities to insist that the parties adhere to the CoHA and ensure that the peace agreement serves as a foundation for future, better agreements throughout Ethiopia.
