Aiming to clarify the reality on the ground in Ethiopia, particularly in Tigray, for media houses and think tanks in Brussels for the Embassy of Ethiopia in Belgium has held a Webinar discussion on the 25th of February 2021.
Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Attorney General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mitiku Kassa, Commissioner of Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission, and Tesfahun Gobezay, Director General of Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs were the guest speakers.
The Attorney General, Dr. Gedion Timothewos briefed the audience about the reform process, the challenges it has been facing and the operation in Tigray from legal and Human Rights points of view.
We expect the upcoming election will be the culmination of the various democratic and human rights measures we had been taking in the last two years by providing impetus and boost for the reform processes, he said.
Commissioner Mitiku gave an elaborate talk on how the government is extending support to affected people in the region following a triple nexus approach where humanitarian support, peacebuilding, and long-term developments are taken into account.
He said the government has been able to deliver humanitarian support to 3.5 million people to date facilitating license to 135 partners and 29 international NGOs.
Tesfahun, Director General of Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs, on his part, expounded on the overall policy on refugees in the country and the status of refugee camps in the Tigray region as well as the efforts to repatriate Ethiopians in the Sudan camps.
Contrary to unsubstantiated media rhetoric, he said Ethiopia is well known for welcoming and sheltering refugees and has enacted the most progressive proclamations in the world that allows refugees easier integration with society, access to tertiary level education, and work.
Following presentations by the guest speakers, Issues such as the need to investigate alleged human rights violations, the actual humanitarian situation in Tigray, and access to the media were amongst the issues raised by participants and discussed widely.
Ethiopian Ambassador to the Belgium, Luxembourg, and EU institution, Hirut Zemene had moderated the webinar.
In her remarks, Ambassador Hirut has emphasized the hugely imbalanced coverage of the situation in Ethiopia by various international media houses and think tanks which necessitated the webinar discussion.
Ethiopian Ambassadors in Europe have participated in the discussion.
The Ethiopian Herald February 28/2021
