On 16 March 2021, Lord Alton of Liverpool and the Coalition for Genocide Response hosted a webinar entitled focused on the situation Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

In recent months reports have emerged highlighting the deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. In August 2020, Genocide Watch issued a genocide warning for Ethiopia In October 2020, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, warned about the high risk of further atrocities. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issue warnings of atrocity crimes in Tigray. At the end of January 2021, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten reported on serious allegations of sexual violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including a high number of alleged rapes in the capital, Mekelle. In March 2021, we now hear reports of starvation being used as a weapon of war against the targeted communities.

The dire situation in the Tigray region requires an urgent response. Panellists discussed the situation in the Tigray Region and considered steps that must be taken by the UK, other states and international bodies.

Speakers included:

Lord Alton of Liverpool, Cross-bench Peer, Patron of the Coalition for Genocide Response

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, Conservative Peer, former Minister of State for Overseas Development and Africa

Lord Boateng, Labour Peer, former Cabinet Minister and High Commissioner to South Africa

Alex de Waal, Executive Director, the World Peace Foundation

Martin Plaut, Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Professor Jan Nyssen, Ghent University

Fisseha Tekle, Amnesty International

Laetitia Bader, Human Rights Watch

You can watch the video from the webinar here:

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