End impunity in Ethiopia

I am writing to you as your constituent to, first of all, thank you for your concern and contribution to the bipartisan efforts to address the ongoing crisis in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. As indicated in the resolution, gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws continue unabated. The use of hate speech against Tigrayans is rampant and normalized by government officials including, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who in his latest press release used genocidal words that he coined since the start of the war and are widely used to label all Tigrayans. In July 2021, Amnesty reported that multiple Tigrayans were beaten, harassed, and arrested. Tigrayan businesses have been closed, bank accounts originally opened in Tigray are frozen, and families have been kept in the dark. The whereabouts of thousands of Tigrayans remain unknown, and Tigrayans in Ethiopia fear being the next Rwanda. The use of hate speech is also targeting aid workers and agencies, including the photoshopped images of Samantha Power, Administrator of USAID, and her children captioned with unwarranted accusations. Although access within Tigray has improved, UNOCHA reported that resources are depleted, and supplies continue to be blocked from reaching Tigray, with 5.2 million people still in need of immediate humanitarian access. While WFP was able to conduct a flight to Tigray, aid workers reported being harassed by Ethiopian officials. Journalists have also been arbitrarily detained with thousands of Tigrayans. There is an urgent need for intervention from the international community to alleviate the imminent famine and violations mentioned above. Therefore, I urge you to please: 1.Push for the inclusion of Global Magnitsky measures in H.Res. 445 as proposed by the Honourables Congressman Gregory W. Meeks and Congressman Michael T. McCaul in their letter sent to His Excellency Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on 30 March 2021. 2.Include in H.Res. 445 calls for the Secretary of State to take further actions, such as economic, diplomatic, and financial sanctions, on the military leadership of Ethiopia and Eritrea including the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali and President Isaias Afeworki, especially for starvation crimes. 3.Include in H.Res. 445 calls for the immediate release of the thousands of Tigrayans, including those that had been serving in the security sector within and outside of Ethiopia, who have been rounded up and illegally detained in internment camps. 4.Include calls for an investigation into the chemical attacks on Tigrayan civilians as documented by international journalists. 5.Include a call for a full investigation and report on the handling of prisoners of war by the Ethiopian government and an investigation into the abduction of Tigrayans that were forced to pose as prisoners of war following their return from Saudi Arabia. If you would like the evidence to provide reasoning for the points above, I would be happy to provide it.

▶ Created on July 24, 2021 by Human Right Defenders