US Congress to keep pressure on Ethiopia after unilateral cease-fire

U.S. Congressional leaders are determined to keep the spotlight on the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, using a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday to maintain pressure on the Ethiopian government, other parties to the conflict, and President Joe Biden’s administration to end the violence and allow humanitarian access to the Tigray region.

“We’re not going to be asleep on what has taken place,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York who chairs the committee. “When I first came into office, there was no real conversation in Congress about Rwanda. That’s not going to take place in this Congress, in this committee, under my watch.”

He added that the committee will stay focused on Ethiopia and work with the administration to make sure civilians don’t starve, saying, “We can never be silent on that.”

The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, echoed his sentiment, saying the hearing is a signal that “Congress is watching, the American people are watching.”

The Ethiopian government on Monday declared a unilateral cease-fire after soldiers withdrew from the Tigray capital. But it remains unclear whether other parties to the conflict will agree to a cease-fire and whether humanitarian organizations will be granted the access they need to respond to the mounting humanitarian crisis, according to U.S. officials who testified at the hearing.

The conflict in Tigray, which erupted in November, has seen mass atrocities, with some parties using rape as a weapon of war and intentionally destroying medical facilities, obstructing farmers, and attacking food stores. The result is not only growing numbers of displaced people, but a mounting threat of famine.

The U.S. Agency for International Development now believes that famine is likely already occurring in Ethiopia. It estimates that between 700,000 and 900,000 people are experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, including extreme deprivation, starvation, and death, said Sarah Charles, assistant administrator at USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, during the hearing.

Without access to scale up the humanitarian response or a cessation of violence, there will likely be “widespread” death from famine in Ethiopia, she said.

The Ethiopian government, which has shut down communications including internet and mobile phones in the Tigray region, must restore communications and remove bureaucratic roadblocks hindering humanitarian efforts, Charles said. Military forces must open checkpoints on the three main roads to allow humanitarian aid deliveries to travel safely, and all parties must agree to a cease-fire so some 1 million people who have been out of reach of humanitarian aid due to security concerns can be safely assisted, she said.

The only solution to the conflict in the Tigray region and other parts of the country is a “permanent negotiated cease-fire” and an “inclusive dialogue” aimed at addressing underlying issues of the conflict, reconciliation, and healing divisions, said Robert Godec, acting assistant secretary of state in the bureau of African affairs at the State Department.

“The cease-fire announcement is an important development that needs to be made real on the ground,” Godec said at the hearing. “We need a permanent cease-fire that all parties are committed to.”

The U.S. government is in regular contact with all parties to the conflict and is urging them to end the violence and allow humanitarian access. That includes telling the Eritrean government and its defense forces that they need to leave Ethiopia immediately, he said.

The U.S. has already placed visa restrictions and some sanctions on parties involved in the conflict and is withholding support to Ethiopia provided through multilateral development banks. But the State Department has yet to make a determination about whether the atrocities in the Tigray region amount to ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, or genocide — which are violations of international law that would compel the U.S. to act.

Several members of Congress pushed Godec on when a determination might come. He said that the State Department is at an advanced stage of a “fact-based review” but that the ultimate determination is up to the secretary of state.

Charles said the next week or two are key to determining the course of the conflict and that USAID and partners are ready to take advantage of the potential opportunity created by the unilateral cease-fire and have food and resources prepositioned if it holds. But Charles added the United Nations and other donors need to scale up support as well.

Several members of Congress raised concerns about the lack of U.N. action, particularly at the Security Council, which has failed to hold an open meeting about the crisis in Ethiopia. The U.S. continues to push for such a meeting because the situation is a threat to regional peace and security, Godec said, but China, Russia, and India are opposed. China specifically has said that the conflict is an internal matter. As a result the U.S. is looking at other mechanisms to investigate and hold people accountable for the atrocities, he said.

China has an “extensive relationship” with Ethiopia, significant commercial interests in the country and has lent the country billions of dollars, but it has not engaged on the issue of the conflict and atrocities in Tigray, Godec said. Despite urging from the U.S. to work together to address the crisis and bring the matter to the security council, the Chinese “indicated they were unwilling to do that,” he said.

“We would prefer that all friends and partners engaged with Ethiopia work together with us to address the crisis in Ethiopia,” Godec said. “That is what we urge them to do.”