UTNA UTNA
November 4, 2024
An Open letter to the:
The Honorable Antony Blinken
Secretary of the State Department
US Department of State
RE: Second COHA Anniversary Statement
Dear Secretary Blinken,
The UNION of Tigrayans in North America (UTNA), a US based civic organization, while appreciating the efforts made by the United States in facilitating and brokering the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) and its commitment for the full implementation of the agreement, we are deeply concerned by the statement issued by the Honorable Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State on November 2, 2024 in commemoration of the Second Anniversary of the signing of CoHA .
The statement wrongly portrays that progress has been made in the return of IDPs and the restoration of basic services, whereas the reality on the ground is to the contrary of the assertion made in the statement.
Given the duration of the agreement, no considerable progress has been made except the silencing of the guns. All IDPs have not been able to return to their homes, and are still living in makeshift shelters, leaky tents and in the open due to the continuing occupation of the Tigrayan territory by the Amhara forces and the Eritrean army. The IDPs are dying everyday due to lack of medication, clean drinking water and malnutrition. The Eritrean troops and the Amhara forces are still in Tigray continuing their gross human rights violations- killing and abducting civilians, raping women, and girls, and resettling Amharas to alter the demography of the occupied districts. Basic services are either meager or nonexistent in many parts of Tigray, and hundreds of thousands of school-aged children are out of school and health services are minimal.
Furthermore, regarding transitional justice, we must emphasize that accountability cannot be achieved through domestic processes, because the perpetrator cannot be at same time the investigator, the prosecutor, and the judge. We cannot rely solely on Ethiopian authorities to control the transitional justice, and we strongly believe that an independent, international body is essential for ensuring accountability and fostering genuine reconciliation. We urge the U.S. Department of State to revisit its statement and take immediate actions to ensure the full implementation of COHA.
Thank you for your most attention to the matter.
Most Sincerely
Union of Tigrayans in North America (UTNA),
202-321-7770 | Utna.secretary@gmail.com