UN rights forum to hold session on Ethiopia at EU request

The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday on the “grave” situation in Ethiopia, at the request of the European Union, a UN statement said on Monday.

The request was supported by the required one-third of the forum’s 47 member states as well as by observers including the United States, it said.

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A draft EU resolution being presented condemns violations committed by all sides in the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said last month may amount to war crimes. If adopted, it would set up an international commission of human rights experts on Ethiopia to investigate further and report back after a year.

“In light of the aggravating situation, we believe the international community has a moral obligation to try to prevent further atrocities and ensure accountability and justice for victims and survivors,” Lotte Knudsen, head of the EU delegation to the UN in Geneva, said in a statement.

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