Eritrea

In Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray, atrocities amounting to war crimes have led to the forced displacement of nearly 2.5 million people inside Ethiopia ...

Within this crisis, Eritrean refugees have been left with nowhere to run inside Ethiopia. They have been targeted and starved alongside their hosts and remain vulnerable to additional attacks from all of those party to the conflict. Put simply, Eritrean refugees are no longer safe in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government must immediately work with the UN, donors, NGOs, and Eritrean refugees themselves to ensure that these refugees can find greater safety within Ethiopia, more secure refuge in neighboring countries, and the durable solution of resettlement. States with influence, including those in the region, as well as the United Arab Emirates, China, Turkey, the European Union, and the United States must press Ethiopia to pursue that path to peace. Some have moved multiple times in Tigray. Others have sought safety in Addis Ababa. In one instance in December 2020, Eritrean refugees who had reached Addis Ababa, were forcibly escorted back to Tigray. To date, aid groups are unclear of what has happened to many of the 20,000 Eritrean refugees who left Hitsats and Shimelba. The newly arrived Eritrean refugees are among some 55,000 Ethiopian refugees who made their way into Sudan in the early months of the conflict. Eritreans who have fled to Ethiopia face similar challenges to refugees from other countries, like South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Ethiopia hosts 800,000 refugees, one of the largest refugee populations in the world. It was difficult to confirm the state of these camps for weeks and even months, as telecommunications were cut in Tigray, misinformation was common, and the conflict was raging. Even last July, UNHCR raised the alarm about the safety of Eritreans in camps in Tigray, citing concern that 24,000 Eritrean refugees in Mai Aini and Adi Harush faced intimidation, harassment and were cut off from assistance. Indeed, it should work with donor states like the United States to offer resettlement as quickly as possible to those Eritrean refugees who are of greatest vulnerability and who may be interested in resettlement options. To date, the fighting continues, and Ethiopian forces continue to block access to those in need. Broadly speaking, all parties to the conflict need to participate in an inclusive peace process, and the humanitarian blockade of Tigray must be lifted immediately. They fled one of the worst human rights situations in the world and are now being targeted, killed, kidnapped, tortured, subjected to discrimination, and otherwise abused in Ethiopia. Like Tigrayans, Eritrean refugees are also suffering from the food and medicine blockade.