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Released ahead of the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government, a new analytical report by Pan-African Agenda has concluded that the African Union (AU) failed to prevent or halt the war on Tigray, describing it as the deadliest war in the world since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The report, titled "Is Africa’s Premier Continental Organization, the African Union, Fit for Purpose?," estimates that more than 600,000 people died during the 2020–2022 war on Tigray, including deaths from fighting, starvation, disease, and the collapse of basic health services.
According to the analysis, an estimated 84 percent of all conflict-related deaths in Africa between 2020 and 2022 occurred during the Ethiopia–Eritrea war against Tigray forces, making it the most lethal internationalized intrastate war of the 21st century.
The report also points to a major disparity in global attention. While the war on Tigray resulted in 10 times more deaths than in Gaza during its ongoing conflict, it received only 0.96% of global media coverage compared to Gaza's 58.5%. The war on Tigray gained roughly 61 times less media reporting than Gaza and 20 times less than Ukraine.
The report criticizes the AU for its lack of effective preventive diplomacy and intervention, despite the war taking place in Ethiopia, the host country of the AU and its peace and security institutions. It notes that the AU remained largely inactive while mass atrocities, widespread displacement, and economic devastation unfolded in Tigray.
Fatalities declined sharply only after the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed in November 2022, following sustained pressure and mediation led by the United States and supported by AU-appointed mediators. The report argues this demonstrates that decisive diplomacy could have saved lives had it been applied earlier.
The study concludes that the AU’s inaction during the war on Tigray represents a profound failure of its core mandate to prevent war crimes, crimes against humanity, and mass displacement, raising fundamental questions about the bloc’s credibility and effectiveness in future conflicts.
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