Africa: AU Rights Body Hears Case Accusing Ethiopian Govt of ‘Widespread’ Rights Violations During, After Tigray War
Addis Abeba– The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held a public oral hearing on 14 May 2025 in a case filed by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) and its partners, accusing the Ethiopian government of committing “widespread human rights violations” during the Tigray war–violations they allege “have persisted” despite the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) in November 2022.
In a statement following the hearing, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) and partners described it as “growing international recognition” of what it said were grave violations committed by Ethiopia against civilians, including “mass killings and sexual violence,” as well as forced displacement, famine, and a prolonged communication blackout. LAW added that the hearing provided a platform where “survivors’ voices were finally heard on an international stage.”
The hearing follows a 2022 submission led by LAW, in collaboration with the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU) and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, representing survivors of the war that erupted in November 2020.
The statement recalled that in October 2022, the ACHPR issued provisional measures ordering the Ethiopian government to “cease extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and targeting of humanitarian aid workers.” The organisation stated that “Ethiopia has so far failed to comply,” and that violations persisted “even after the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA).”
A representative of a Tigrayan civil society network, quoted by LAW, told the Commission that its efforts “give hope not only to these survivors, but to millions of Tigrayans who have endured unimaginable suffering.” The representative described the hearing as “a vital step toward accountability.”
The hearing is part of a broader series of international efforts seeking accountability. In March 2025, LAW and its legal team filed a criminal complaint in Germany on behalf of eight Tigray war survivors, accusing senior Ethiopian and Eritrean officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The complaint was filed under Germany’s universal jurisdiction law, which allows for the prosecution of grave international crimes regardless of where they occurred.
The complaint echoes findings by the now-dissolved International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), which, in its final report before its mandate expired in October 2023, documented evidence of “war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on a staggering scale.” ICHREE called for further investigation to “determine the occurrence of genocide against people in Tigray.”
In March 2023, the U.S. government also concluded that crimes against humanity and war crimes had been committed during the war, which spread from Tigray to the Afar and Amhara regions. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the crimes as “calculated and deliberate,” and said that forces from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and Amhara regional forces had all committed war crimes.
In a statement, Donald Deya, CEO of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU), said, “We appreciate that there have been several conflicts and atrocities in several parts of Ethiopia in the recent past,” but added that “the one that broke out in Tigray starting November 2020 has been the most egregious.” He said the hearing “sets the stage – and precedent – for addressing and redressing these conflicts” through the African human rights system.
Antonia Mulvey, Executive Director of LAW, said the hearing “sends a powerful message – not just to Ethiopia, but to the international community – that atrocities cannot be buried in silence.” She added, “Survivors of the Tigray conflict have waited too long to be seen, heard, and believed.”
Christel Tham, Associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, described the hearing as “a rare opportunity for Tigrayan victims to have their voices heard by one of Africa’s most prominent human rights bodies,” but emphasized that “much work remains to be done to secure meaningful accountability.”
The statement said the African Commission is expected to issue its decision in due course.
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