C 132/208
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
24.3.2022
Thursday 7 October 2021
P.
whereas on 30 September 2021, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared seven UN staff members (from Unicef, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UNOCHA) personae non gratae in Ethiopia;
Q.
whereas there have been intermittent restrictions and shutdowns of the internet and telecommunications in Tigray and neighbouring regions; whereas journalists have been attacked and several media outlets’ licences have been suspended, which hampers the ability to monitor the situation on the ground; whereas basic services, including electricity and banking services, continue to be restricted;
R.
whereas the current state of instability in Ethiopia is the result of a long history of ethnic division and ethnic tension;
S.
whereas the unity of Ethiopia, as a multi-ethnic state, is of great importance for the stability of the region and the African continent as a whole;
T.
whereas with a population of more than 110 million people and being strategically located near the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is a key country on the African continent and a potential partner of strategic importance for the EU and its Member States;
U.
whereas as the world’s leading humanitarian donor, the EU continues to stand in solidarity with those in need through its humanitarian funding; whereas from the outset of the conflict in Ethiopia, the EU has continued to consistently advocate for full and unimpeded humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law;
V.
whereas the recently adopted communication on the EU’s humanitarian action envisages strengthening the processes that put the promotion and application of international humanitarian law consistently at the heart of our external action;
W. whereas the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument — Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe) considers human development, governance and peacebuilding in Ethiopia as priority areas for action, with 65 % of the multiannual indicative programme dedicated to these fields; X.
whereas the Commission has included humanitarian actions worth EUR 5 million in Amhara and Afar in order to address the recent developments of the crisis, as part of the total humanitarian funding that has already been mobilised and contracted in 2021, amounting to EUR 53,7 million, to support people in need in Ethiopia; whereas EUR 118 million has been mobilised for assistance to Tigray and Ethiopian refugees in Sudan; whereas as a result of the ongoing conflict the EU has postponed budget support disbursements to Ethiopia;
Y.
whereas in September 2021 the EU attempted to organise a humanitarian air bridge through the Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) in order to deliver urgently needed humanitarian goods to the Tigray region, but faced major hurdles from the Ethiopian Government; whereas as a result only one EU humanitarian air bridge flight was carried out, with only a small proportion of its humanitarian cargo delivered;
Z.
whereas on 21 June 2021 the EU appointed Annette Weber as the new EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa; whereas following a mandate from the VP/HR, the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto visited the region twice earlier this year to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia and its regional impacts;
AA. whereas on 26 August 2021 the African Union appointed the former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as a mediator for the conflict; AB. whereas in December 2018 the newly installed Government of Ethiopia set up the Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission and the Ministry of Peace; whereas thus far, both institutions have failed to live up to their initial mandates of encouraging peace and preventing and resolving armed conflict in Ethiopia in the difficult environment following their creation; AC. whereas during the ongoing conflict the Ethiopian Prosperity Party, led by Abiy Ahmed, declared itself the winner of a general election that was boycotted and the result of which was denounced by some opposition parties; whereas there was no electoral process in Tigray; whereas the EU did not send an election observation mission;