The ACHPR Tigray investigation is an

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Chart ...

(ACHPR) investigation of human rights violations occurring in the

Tigray War The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray Peop ...

including extrajudicial executions of civilians and

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

. The ACHPR established the ''Commission of Inquiry into the situation in the Tigray Region'' to carry out the investigation under ACHPR resolution 482 of 12 May 2021.

Creation and termination

The ACHPR decided to create a commission to investigate gross human rights violations occurring in the

in resolution 482 on 12 May 2021, referring to Ethiopia's obligations under articles 45(2) and 46 of the

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent. It emerged under ...

, principles of non-interference, existing documentation on the human rights violations of the war, and other investigations such as the

EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation The EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation is a human rights investigation launched jointly by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in mid-2021 into human rights vio ...

. The ''Commission of Inquiry into the situation in the Tigray Region'' was established for a renewable period of three months, with a mandate to investigate gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions of civilians and

, by collecting evidence, identifying perpetrators, determining the underlying causes, and reporting results and making recommendations to prevent patterns of human rights violations from continuing. In August 2021, the Commission was renewed for another three months. On 23 May 2023, the ACHPR terminated the mandate of the ACHPR Tigray investigation, citing the

Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement On 2 November 2022, a peace treaty was signed between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), where both parties agreed to a "permanent cessation of hostilities" to end the Tigray War. The agreement was made eff ...

as the main reason for the termination.

Location

The Commission's headquarters are in Banjul, with the aim of travelling to Ethiopia and "neighbouring countries when conditions are met".

Leadership and structure

Rémy Ngoy Lumbu Rémy (; pcd, R’my) is a commune in the department of Pas-de-Calais in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Rémy lies in the valley of the river Sensée, some southeast of Arras, on the D9 road. Population Places of interes ...

, vice-chair of the ACHPR, is the chair of the Commission. The four other members initially included in the Commission are Maya Sahli-Fadel, Hatem Essaiem,

Maria Teresa Manuela Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

and Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga. The Commission has the right to co-opt forensic investigation, human rights or other experts as additional members. In August 2021, human rights experts

Fatsah Ouguergouz Fatsah Ouguergouz (born 1958) is an Algerian judge born in France. Childhood and education He holds a PhD in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Geneva, Switzerland). Legal career He has served as a judge ...

, Soyata Maïga and

Lucy Asuagbor Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

were retrospectively appointed as of June 2021.

Reporting

In September 2021, Commission chair Rémy Ngoy Lumbu stated that the Commission's report would be published by the end of 2021. In July 2023, when the May 2023 termination of the investigation's mandate became known to Ethiopian media, ''

Addis Standard ''Addis Standard'' is an Ethiopian monthly social, economic and political news magazine published and distributed by Jakenn Publishing Plc, and was established in February 2011 by Tsedale Lemma. The magazine has an independent political stance. ...

'' stated that the investigation had not been permitted to travel to Tigray Region and had not published a report on its findings.

References

External links