US shelves Tigray ‘genocide’ investigation in hope that talks will end conflict

The US has decided not to go ahead with a legal review into whether human rights abuses in Tigray amounted to genocide.

President Joe Biden’s administration has shelved the review to make room for diplomacy as the conflict spills into the rest of Ethiopia.

“We have decided to refrain at the current moment from making a public determination in order to allow space and time to see if the talks that are currently under way can make any progress,” said Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

She said the State Department would continue to track abuses in Ethiopia.

“We have undergone an active and dynamic determination process,” Ms Phee said.

“It’s ongoing as we continue to assess emerging reports of human rights violations and abuses.”

She said the US was discussing an arms embargo on Ethiopia at the UN.

She also called for an end to hate speech on both sides of the conflict, both in Ethiopia and among Ethiopians in the US.

“We would urge the diaspora to play a responsible role in helping promote a conclusion to the conflict, rather than inflaming the conflict,” Ms Phee said.

“And we’re also all conscious of the layers of ethnic hostility over the years that predate the current conflicts that are affecting our opportunities.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week voiced concerns over the escalating violence in Ethiopia and repeated a call for negotiations to resolve the conflict.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner – has appeared on the front lines as his troops battle the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and allied rebel groups during their advance on Addis Ababa.

His government has also detained high-profile members of the Tigrayan ethnic group throughout the country.

The US, UK, Germany, France and Switzerland have all advised their citizens to leave the country as the conflict escalates.

The Biden administration had been engaged in a months-long pressure campaign to bring Mr Abiy to the negotiating table.

This included expelling Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides eligible countries with duty-free access to the US market, as well as sanctions on Eritrean military officials.

Ethiopia has cut internet, phone and media access in Tigray since the conflict erupted last year. It has been accused of complicating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-torn region.

Witnesses have described human rights abuses in Tigray, including the displacement and murder of civilians, gang rapes, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the burning of crops.

Amnesty International has documented sexual violence and civilian casualties in Tigray and neighbouring Amhara committed by both sides in the conflict.