A3+1 Press Stakeout following the briefing on Peace and Security in Africa -
The situation in Tigray
FRIDAY 2ND JULY 2021
1. We are making this statement as the African three plus one. Namely, Kenya, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tunisia.
2. We are pained by the suffering experienced by our brothers and sisters in Tigray these past few months. We send our condolences to all the families who have lost members to violence including aid workers.
3. We are especially outraged and saddened by the pain of all the women and girls who have suffered sexual violence.
4. We condemn without reservation the targeting of unarmed civilians. In doing so, we call for all parties with the means to cause harm to cease any attacks or threats to unarmed civilians.
5. We are particularly concerned about the potential implications of the recent destruction of the bridge over the Tekezi river, connecting Shire and Gondar. It is indicative of a callous attitude to the needs of civilians in crisis.
6. We further condemn the killing of three staff members of Doctors Without Borders in Tigray on the 25th of June.
7. We demand that all parties respect international law including humanitarian principles and the moral codes that are at the core of Africa’s cultures and religions.
8. Throughout the last months when division and violence has been experienced in Tigray, we have welcomed the government’s resourcing of a significant proportion of the humanitarian needs in Tigray.
9. We again urge the international humanitarian community to move with speed and scale up assistance. These efforts should be clearly and strongly supported by the Ethiopian government and all parties with all impediments being removed.
10. We also support the democratic aspirations of the Ethiopian people as expressed in their most recent election.
11. We have been gratified by the interim reports, especially that of the African Union election observer mission which remarked that the polls were carried out in an “orderly, peaceful and credible manner”.
12. We hope that the election becomes the foundation of a robust national conversation on peace, cohesion, development, and the celebration of diversity and pluralism.
13. Today, the situation in Tigray remains of concern but there are clear opportunities for peace to emerge.
14. We welcome the unilateral humanitarian ceasefire by the Government of Ethiopia and stress that the Security Council, and the International Community, should appreciate this announcement as an opportunity that must be capitalized on.