The Case for U.S. Reengagement in Ethiopia
Posted: 19 Feb 2021, 09:05
The Case for U.S. Reengagement in Ethiopia
Cameron Hudson
President Joe Biden’s foreign policy team arrived in Washington amid a mounting humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa, as the Ethiopian government continues its monthslong military campaign against the northern Tigray region. The crisis is an early test of the Biden administration’s ability to balance its global advocacy for democracy, human rights and the rule of law against its strategic interests in a vital yet unstable region.
A once-promising liberal reformer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military offensive on his political opponents in Tigray last November in response to reported attacks on a federal government military outpost by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, then the regional ruling party. Abiy declared victory in the conflict weeks later, after capturing the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, but sporadic reports from the region indicate ongoing hostilities between Ethiopian troops and remnants of the TPLF. The conflict has also become increasingly marked by reports of atrocities and war crimes—deeply damaging Abiy’s credibility in the eyes of the international community.
In just 10 weeks of fighting, more than 60,000 refugees fled into neighboring Sudan and up to 2 million more were internally displaced, while untold numbers are being denied life-sustaining assistance in what Abiy has continued to term “a law and order operation.” As a result, a once-reliable U.S. partner—Ethiopia mediated peace agreements in South Sudan, helped usher in a transition to civilian rule in Sudan, and has shouldered the heavy burden of supplying troops to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia—is now betraying its own commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Ethiopian government is largely failing to respect a December agreement to provide for unrestricted aid access to Tigray. “While people are in dire need of aid, access to the affected region remains limited,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, noted last week. He also claimed to be receiving “consistent reports of ethnic-targeted violence, killings, massive looting, rapes, forceful returns of refugees and possible war crimes.”
Since the start of this year, troubling evidence has also emerged that hospitals in Tigray treating wounded civilians have been shelled, camps for internally displaced people have been burned, and relief supplies meant to feed those in need have been pillaged. But with Abiy’s government continuing to block access to much of Tigray, it is difficult to establish which side was responsible for these atrocities.
At a recent regional summit to discuss the conflict, East African leaders were unwilling to propose solutions or even criticize the Ethiopian government. Instead, they legitimized Abiy’s actions; Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chair of the AU Commission who attended the meeting, said Abiy had taken “bold steps to preserve the unity and stability” of Ethiopia. For its part, the EU recently announced the suspension of more than $100 million in development assistance unless and until the government allows free and unfettered humanitarian access to Tigray.
But the United States, in the waning days of the Trump administration, took no such action. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo only voiced his “grave concern” over the conflict during a phone call with Abiy in November, according to the State Department. And in an interview with AllAfrica prior to his departure, the Trump administration’s top diplomat for Africa, Tibor Nagy, gave Abiy’s government a free pass for its conduct, instead pinning the blame on the TPLF for being “belligerent.” The message heard in Addis Ababa was that Washington is OK with a government using harsh military means to vanquish a political foe.
Now, with a new president in the White House, it’s time for the U.S. to step up and change course.
The door is open for U.S. officials to reengage diplomatically, using both carrots and sticks, to pressure Abiy’s government to confront the mounting humanitarian toll. That would send an early message about Biden’s commitment to upholding human rights and international law, even when dealing with strategic partners like Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is too important a strategic partner for the U.S. to alienate. But allowing its transgressions to go unchecked is too big a price to pay.
In his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged “a number of deeply, deeply concerning actions” taken by the government of Ethiopia, “including atrocities directed at the people of Tigray.” This alone constitutes a greater acknowledgment of the crimes being committed than from the Trump team, which was slow to fully recognize even basic facts on the ground, including the involvement of Eritrean troops in Tigray. In comments last week, the State Department for the first time called on Eritrean forces to withdraw from Ethiopia, but more action will be needed if this civil conflict is to be prevented from dragging down the region.
A first step, in recognition of the region’s interconnectedness, would be to appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa who could revitalize U.S. diplomatic efforts. The aim would be to get Ethiopia to relent in its war of attrition and acknowledge the need for a credible national dialogue that includes all political and regional factions. This long overdue effort is the only credible, and lawful, way to address the ethnic and political cleavages dividing Ethiopia today. It would also serve to enhance U.S. engagement in a critical region, so that America is not “AWOL when these problems emerge,” as Blinken put it during his confirmation hearing.
Contine reading
Cameron Hudson
President Joe Biden’s foreign policy team arrived in Washington amid a mounting humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa, as the Ethiopian government continues its monthslong military campaign against the northern Tigray region. The crisis is an early test of the Biden administration’s ability to balance its global advocacy for democracy, human rights and the rule of law against its strategic interests in a vital yet unstable region.
A once-promising liberal reformer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military offensive on his political opponents in Tigray last November in response to reported attacks on a federal government military outpost by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, then the regional ruling party. Abiy declared victory in the conflict weeks later, after capturing the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, but sporadic reports from the region indicate ongoing hostilities between Ethiopian troops and remnants of the TPLF. The conflict has also become increasingly marked by reports of atrocities and war crimes—deeply damaging Abiy’s credibility in the eyes of the international community.
In just 10 weeks of fighting, more than 60,000 refugees fled into neighboring Sudan and up to 2 million more were internally displaced, while untold numbers are being denied life-sustaining assistance in what Abiy has continued to term “a law and order operation.” As a result, a once-reliable U.S. partner—Ethiopia mediated peace agreements in South Sudan, helped usher in a transition to civilian rule in Sudan, and has shouldered the heavy burden of supplying troops to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia—is now betraying its own commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Ethiopian government is largely failing to respect a December agreement to provide for unrestricted aid access to Tigray. “While people are in dire need of aid, access to the affected region remains limited,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, noted last week. He also claimed to be receiving “consistent reports of ethnic-targeted violence, killings, massive looting, rapes, forceful returns of refugees and possible war crimes.”
Since the start of this year, troubling evidence has also emerged that hospitals in Tigray treating wounded civilians have been shelled, camps for internally displaced people have been burned, and relief supplies meant to feed those in need have been pillaged. But with Abiy’s government continuing to block access to much of Tigray, it is difficult to establish which side was responsible for these atrocities.
At a recent regional summit to discuss the conflict, East African leaders were unwilling to propose solutions or even criticize the Ethiopian government. Instead, they legitimized Abiy’s actions; Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chair of the AU Commission who attended the meeting, said Abiy had taken “bold steps to preserve the unity and stability” of Ethiopia. For its part, the EU recently announced the suspension of more than $100 million in development assistance unless and until the government allows free and unfettered humanitarian access to Tigray.
But the United States, in the waning days of the Trump administration, took no such action. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo only voiced his “grave concern” over the conflict during a phone call with Abiy in November, according to the State Department. And in an interview with AllAfrica prior to his departure, the Trump administration’s top diplomat for Africa, Tibor Nagy, gave Abiy’s government a free pass for its conduct, instead pinning the blame on the TPLF for being “belligerent.” The message heard in Addis Ababa was that Washington is OK with a government using harsh military means to vanquish a political foe.
Now, with a new president in the White House, it’s time for the U.S. to step up and change course.
The door is open for U.S. officials to reengage diplomatically, using both carrots and sticks, to pressure Abiy’s government to confront the mounting humanitarian toll. That would send an early message about Biden’s commitment to upholding human rights and international law, even when dealing with strategic partners like Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is too important a strategic partner for the U.S. to alienate. But allowing its transgressions to go unchecked is too big a price to pay.
In his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged “a number of deeply, deeply concerning actions” taken by the government of Ethiopia, “including atrocities directed at the people of Tigray.” This alone constitutes a greater acknowledgment of the crimes being committed than from the Trump team, which was slow to fully recognize even basic facts on the ground, including the involvement of Eritrean troops in Tigray. In comments last week, the State Department for the first time called on Eritrean forces to withdraw from Ethiopia, but more action will be needed if this civil conflict is to be prevented from dragging down the region.
A first step, in recognition of the region’s interconnectedness, would be to appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa who could revitalize U.S. diplomatic efforts. The aim would be to get Ethiopia to relent in its war of attrition and acknowledge the need for a credible national dialogue that includes all political and regional factions. This long overdue effort is the only credible, and lawful, way to address the ethnic and political cleavages dividing Ethiopia today. It would also serve to enhance U.S. engagement in a critical region, so that America is not “AWOL when these problems emerge,” as Blinken put it during his confirmation hearing.
Contine reading
