Security Council fails to agree on a statement calling for a ceasefire in Ethiopia

INA-  sources

The 15 members of the UN Security Council failed to agree on the adoption of a statement calling for a ceasefire in Tigray, Ethiopia and expressing concern about alleged arrests based on ethnic identity, diplomatic sources said.
 
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A diplomat told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the draft text submitted by Ireland, a non-permanent member of the council, was rejected by China and Russia and was “abandoned” on Friday night.
Several other diplomatic sources confirmed that “there is no agreement,” and some of them believed that the draft was rushed. The Russian diplomatic mission acknowledged the existence of a dispute over the text, while it was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the Chinese mission.
 
In a draft text obtained by Agence France-Presse, the Security Council calls for “unimpeded humanitarian access”, “an end to hostilities” and the launch of a “comprehensive national dialogue” in Ethiopia.
 
The draft stresses the council members’ concerns about “reports of large-scale arrests in Ethiopia on the basis of ethnic identity and without due process.”
 
The draft also denounces “hate speech”. Ethiopia declared last week a nationwide state of emergency for a period of six months as fears grew that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters and their allies would advance towards the capital, Addis Ababa.
 
Jurists assert that arbitrIG arrests of Tigrayans – which were common during the war – have multiplied since then, and that the new procedures allow the authorities to detain anyone suspected of supporting “terrorist groups” without a judicial warrant. Several countries have called on their nationals to leave Ethiopia at a time when the conflict between the rebels and government forces in the north of the country is escalating.