Ethiopia 

Background 

Between 2020 and 2022, Ethiopia was embroiled in a vicious conflict in the northern region of Tigray, which ended with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. The Pretoria Agreement was signed in 2022, and saw the central government commit to a transitional justice process. Though the agreement halted active fighting between the parties, the victim groups in VAI’s membership report that human rights abuses – particularly sexual violence – have continued in some parts of Tigray unabated. In June 2024, a transitional justice policy authored by the Ministry of Justice was adopted by Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers. Since it has been released by the federal government, there has been significant interest by international partners in the reaction of civil society to the policy’s contents – but almost no attempts to understand the reaction or position of victims themselves.  

VAI has five victim member groups and one partner organization from Tigray. We cannot publicise the details of all victim groups for security reasons. However, we can share the names and activities of some of these groups, including: