Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU), and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP hailed the recent hearing by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights as a “major step toward justice” for victims of grave human rights violations in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
In a joint press release, the organizations emphasized that the Commission’s oral hearing, held in Banjul, Gambia, marks a significant milestone in international human rights accountability. The case, filed in October 2022, centers on atrocities committed between 2020 and 2022 and allowed survivors of the conflict to present their accounts before an international legal forum.
A representative of a Tigrayan civil society group described the hearing as a “vital step toward accountability,” offering renewed hope to communities devastated by the conflict.
Despite the African Commission’s provisional measures issued in October 2022—calling for an immediate end to extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, and attacks on humanitarian workers—such abuses reportedly continue, even after the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) in November 2022.
“The conflict in Tigray, which began in November 2020, is distinguished by the extent and brutality of violations,” said PALU CEO Donald Deya. “This hearing establishes a crucial precedent for addressing such crimes within the African human rights framework.”
LAW Executive Director Antonia Mulvey stressed the broader significance of the hearing, stating it sent a powerful message to Ethiopia and the international community that impunity will not be tolerated. “Justice matters, and today we moved meaningfully toward it,” she said.
Debevoise & Plimpton Associate Christel Tham added that while the hearing gave victims an important platform, ongoing efforts are essential to achieving full accountability.
The press concludes it’s statement requesting the Commission to deliver its ruling in the coming months, and underscored the importance of ensuring that recognition of the victims is followed by concrete action for justice.
