Photograph of the Ethiopian flag flying outside an unidentified official building in the country

Australia must push for a full-blown investigation into potential war crimes in Tigray region

The human rights violations perpetrated by Eritrean armed forces in the city of Axum, Ethiopia, against its civilian population must be scrutinised by the international community. Amnesty International has released a report into widespread looting, deadly indiscriminate shelling of the city, and wanton killing of its civilian population by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights intends to launch a joint investigation with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission into alleged war crimes in the Tigray region. This not enough.

Amnesty International Australia has called on Foreign Minister Marise Payne to urge the UN Human Rights Council to take urgent action to hold a
special session and launch a full-blown investigation into the situation – to ensure robust monitoring and regular reporting to the international community, and to collect and preserve evidence in a manner that would be appropriate for future use in criminal investigations and prosecutions.