EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday scolded the bloc’s countries for not having imposed sanctions on those involved in a bloody conflict in Ethiopia, a move he said might have helped to reduce violence in the East African country.
The war in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, which began about a year ago and has since spread to other parts of the country, has resulted in thousands of deaths. A joint investigation by the United Nations and Ethiopia published last month said “there are reasonable grounds to believe” that all sides fighting in the war have committed violations that could be classed as war crimes.
In comments to reporters following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Borrell said the situation in Ethiopia was “one of my biggest frustrations” of the year “because we were not able to react properly to the large-scale human rights violations, mass rapes using sexual violence as a war arm, killings and concentration camps based on ethnic belonging.”
He added: “We haven’t been able to stop it, and neither to take coercive measures due to the lack of unanimity in the Council.” EU foreign policy decisions, such as the imposition of sanctions, require unanimity among all 27 EU countries.
Asked about his remarks, Borrell said he didn’t believe EU sanctions would have managed to stop the conflict, but “would have, in my view, influenced the behavior of the actors.”
“Only a political solution can reverse the negative and dangerous dynamic we are seeing now,” the foreign policy chief said.
Borrell didn’t reveal which EU countries had been against imposing sanctions but said “many countries felt that it wasn’t an adequate solution.”
He added that he wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the situation in Ethiopia.
“The conflict in the country has further worsened and expanded, producing a devastating humanitarian crisis. It undermines not only the stability of Ethiopia but of the entire region,” he said, pointing out that “there are more than 9 million people starving in the north of Ethiopia” and that only 10 percent of international help is reaching the people in need there.
"conflict" - Google News
December 14, 2021 at 02:07AM
https://ift.tt/31XnXBU
EU’s Borrell criticizes countries over reaction to Ethiopia conflict - POLITICO Europe
"conflict" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bZ36xX
https://ift.tt/3aYn0I8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "EU’s Borrell criticizes countries over reaction to Ethiopia conflict - POLITICO Europe"
Post a Comment