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A30 world news
Diasabra 18 December 2021

Over Ethiopia’s objections, UN rights body backs war monitor

and abuses by all parties,” tigation to continue, but said issued last month, and it has
the U.N. deputy high com- creation of a new body “is begun work.
missioner for human rights, repetitive, counterproductive
Nada al-Nashif, told repre- to ongoing implementation The joint report decried the
sentatives at Friday’s session. processes, and further delays “terrible toll on civilians”
“The humanitarian impact redress for victims and survi- in the conflict in the Tigray
of the conflict is increasingly vors.” region, and human rights
dramatic.” violations and abuses com-
Ethiopia’s ambassador in mitted by all sides. The rare
Nearly 10 million people in Geneva, Zenebe Kebede Ko- collaboration by the U.N.
northern Ethiopia face acute rcho, said his government human rights office with the
food insecurity, and at least 2 rejects the draft resolution Ethiopian Human Rights
million have been forced to the Human Rights Council Commission was hampered
flee their homes. Humanitar- is considering. At Friday’s by authorities’ intimidation
ian workers have little access session, he called the reso- and restrictions, and didn’t
and face hostility. Ethiopia’s lution a “deliberate destabi- visit some of the war’s worst-
government has sought to lization effort” and said the affected locations.
restrict reporting on the war government “will not coop-
(AP) — Over Ethiopia’s council’s approval on a 21- and detained some journal- erate with any mechanism The U.N. human rights
objections, the U.N.’s 15 vote with 11 countries ists, including a video free- imposed on it.” The Africa chief, Michelle Bachelet, has
main human rights body abstaining creates a three- lancer accredited to The As- group of nations at the coun- said all sides in the war in the
voted Friday to create an person team with a one-year sociated Press, Amir Aman cil backed his position in a Tigray region have commit-
international team of ex- mandate to monitor and re- Kiyaro. separate statement. ted brutal abuses that could
perts to boost scrutiny of port on rights abuses in Ethi- amount to war crimes and
rights abuses in the dev- opia. Between 5,000 and 7,000 “Multilateralism, after all crimes against humanity.
astating yearlong war be- people swept up under Ethi- these years, is once again be-
tween Ethiopian govern- The push from EU and other opia’s new state of emergen- ing hijacked by a neocolonial- The investigation broke little
ment forces and fighters Western countries demon- cy remain detained, most of ist mentality. Ethiopia is be- new ground and confirmed in
from the country’s Tigray strates their frustration that them Tigrayans, al-Nashif ing targeted and singled out general the abuses described
region. a joint investigation between said: “Many are detained at the Human Rights Coun- by witnesses throughout the
Ethiopia’s human rights incommunicado or in un- cil for defending a democrat- war. But it gave little sense of
Ethiopia’s government de- commission and the U.N. known locations. This is tan- ically elected elected govern- scale, saying for example that
cried a “neocolonialist men- human rights office, which tamount to enforced disap- ment,” the ambassador said. the more than 1,300 rapes
tality” after the European culminated with a report last pearance, and a matter of very “The council is being used reported to authorities were
Union and other Western month, didn’t go far enough. grave alarm.” as an instrument of political likely far fewer than the real
countries sought a special pressure.” number.
session of the Human Rights “The conflict has continued The government-created
Council to ratchet up atten- with ongoing fighting be- Ethiopian Human Rights The Ethiopian ambassador The government has insisted
tion on the conflict that has yond the borders of Tigray. Commission acknowledged said Ethiopia’s government the report cleared it of allega-
left tens of thousands dead. Our office continues to re- in a statement this week that had set up an “inter-minis- tions that genocide was hap-
ceive credible reports of se- there was “value-added” in terial task force” in response pening in Tigray.
A resolution that won the vere human rights violations encouraging the joint inves- to the human rights report

AP photographer beaten by Israeli police in east Jerusalem

(AP) — An Associated X-rays. He did not suffer any rael and the Palestinian ter- the officer involved.”
Press photographer was According to Illean, Friday’s fractures and returned home ritories, said Friday’s incident
pushed and beaten by Is- demonstration was relatively several hours later with a was the latest in a string of Israeli police officials did not
raeli police in an unpro- quiet, with only minor scuf- bruised face and head and attacks on journalists by the immediately respond to re-
voked attack Friday while fles between Israel’s para- back pain. border police. quests for comment.
covering a protest in a military border police and
tense Jerusalem neighbor- protesters. Israel’s border police is a “The Foreign Press Associa- Illean has worked for the AP
hood, sending him to the paramilitary force that often tion strongly condemns this for five years. His image of
hospital with head inju- He said that about 15 min- is sent to quell riots, and its behavior, which raises seri- clashes between Palestinian
ries. utes after the demonstra- officers have been targets of ous questions about the dis- protesters and Israeli police at
tion wrapped up, he was ap- Palestinian attackers. At the cipline and professionalism Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
The AP said it was outraged proached by a group of bor- same time, its officers have of the officers,” the group last May was named one of
by the violence against staff- der police officers who threw frequently been accused of said. It called for a “serious Time magazine’s top 100
er Mahmoud Illean, while a stun grenades toward him. using excessive force against investigation” and “appropri- photos of 2021.
prominent journalists’ advo- unarmed protesters and jour- ate disciplinary action against
cacy group called for disci- Video from the scene shows nalists.
plinary action against the of- Illean standing in front of a
ficers involved. white car when one of the of- “We are outraged by this
ficers approaches him, push- senseless and unprovoked
Illean had been covering a es him backward onto the attack by Israeli police on
weekly demonstration in the ground and then proceeds to an AP photographer, who
east Jerusalem neighborhood punch him several times. A was simply doing his job,”
of Sheikh Jarrah, where long- second video showed Illean said AP spokeswoman Lau-
time Palestinian residents are photographing police attack- ren Easton. “Such violence
battling efforts by Jewish set- ing several other journalists against journalists is abhor-
tlers to evict them from their before the officer turned on rent and unacceptable.”
homes. The case, which has him.
drawn global attention and The Foreign Press Associa-
fueled Israeli-Palestinian ten- Illean’s face was bleeding tion, which represents some
sions, has been before Israel’s and he was taken to Jerusa- 400 journalists working for
Supreme Court for months. lem’s Hadassah Hospital for international media in Is-