“The new reports and images that emerge from Tigray about extrajudicial crimes, civilian crimes, sexual and gender-based violence and forced displacement are deeply disturbing,” Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said Saturday.
Coons said it was “essential” that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the United Nations Office for Human Rights “have the necessary access and support to conduct a thorough, independent and transparent investigation into war crimes and human rights abuses.” to all actors. ”
A U.S. State Department spokesman told CNN on Friday that officials “are seriously concerned about reported human rights violations, abuses and atrocities” in the region and noted a growing urgency “to establish international investigations. independent ”.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is an Ethiopian body appointed by the state, which is part of a joint US-backed mechanism tasked with investigating alleged Tigray atrocities.
The head of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Gregory Meeks, has called on the international community to take the lead in any proposed investigation. In comments on CNN’s findings, Meeks called for the investigations to be “conducted internationally.”
The office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told CNN in a statement: “The Ethiopian government has expressed its open will for independent investigations to be carried out in the Tigray region.”