News release

Ethiopia: ICRC starts detention visits to members of the Ethiopian armed forces in the Tigray region.

 

Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has started visiting members of the Ethiopian armed forces in the Tigray region earlier this week.

“Visiting people in places of detention is a core part of our mandate and an established role for the ICRC in the country. We are pleased to now be extending this important activity in Tigray,” said ICRC’s Head of Operations in Ethiopia, Maria Soledad Rueda Garcia. “As elsewhere in Ethiopia, our visits in Tigray focus on the protection and dignity of the detained individuals. Our ongoing bilateral dialogue with the concerned authorities is essential to that work.”

In 2020 the ICRC visited some 72,000 persons deprived of their liberty in over 50 places of detention throughout Ethiopia, providing basic material assistance, helping with access to water and sanitation, and facilitating contacts between detainees and their families. The ICRC has also provided material to contain the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.

The ICRC works around the world to ensure humane conditions of detention through regular visits, meetings with detainees to monitor their conditions and treatment and to bring about improvements. The ICRC's findings are discussed confidentially with the concerned entities.

The ICRC has been present in Ethiopia since 1977. In addition to our work in places of detention, we support people with physical disabilities and provide protection and assistance to communities. We work closely with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society to reconnect families separated by armed conflict and other situations of violence.

A recent update of the ICRC activities in the Tigray region is available here.

 For more information:

Ewan Watson, ICRC Geneva, ewatson@icrc.org tel: +41 79 244 64 70

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