New Delhi: At the UN Security Councilโs first public meeting on the Tigray crisis, there was consensus about the need for humanitarian access to the conflict zone, but divergences remained on the responsibility of the Ethiopian government.
India did not follow Russia and China in terming Tigray as an internal issue of Ethiopia but did emphasise the territorial integrity of Ethiopia. However, India also prescribed the need to follow the federal constitutional principles and withdraw foreign forces, which aligns with the Western position.
Ethiopia is considered as the stabilising influence in the strategic Horn of Africa. Therefore, the break out of the civil war in November 2020 in Ethiopiaโs northernmost state has rung alarm bells around the region โ and in the wider international community.
After France took over the presidency for July, the first formal meeting was the open discussion by the UN Security Council since the conflict erupted more than eight months ago.
The UNSC has discussed Tigray six times, but all of them in closed format and not recorded formally.
The latest open meeting was called by the US, UK and Ireland, but it came after a bit of closed-door negotiations with other members. Russia and China had opposed an open discussion, with the three African countries in UNSC, known as โA3โ also apparently reluctant to have a public airing of the crisis. The Council issued a press statement in April that backed the efforts of the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
According to Security Council Report, there was even a disagreement over the listing of the agenda item. The West wanted the meeting to be held under the agenda item of โProtection of Civilians in Armed Conflictโ. However, in the face of opposition from the โA3 plus oneโ, the Tigray situation was finally discussed under the agenda of โPeace and Security in Africaโ.
Ahead of the meeting, the USโs envoy to UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had said that the open session โrepresents progressโ, as it was necessary for the โparties to the conflict know that we are watching them, and weโre watching them closelyโ.
In the Myanmar crisis that the Council had to deal with this year, the UNSC has handed over the initiative to the southeast Asian regional body, ASEAN. But, the US does not seem to put similar emphasis on the African Union โ at least as per its statement at the Council from where it was absent.
Instead, there was a lot more pressure on the Ethiopian government to โdemonstrateโ that its unilateral humanitarian ceasefire would be functional on the ground. The US envoy also called out Ethiopian government forces for having looted offices of humanitarian organisations as they withdraw from Mekkele, the capital of Tigray.
In Indiaโs statement, there was no explicit reference to the African Union. During Myanmar deliberations, India strongly backed the ASEAN position and stressed the necessity to let the regional body take the initiative.
Diverging from the West, Indiaโs permanent representative to UN, T.S. Tirumurti, โappreciatedโ the Ethiopian government for providing humanitarian access and assistance to the impacted population and โcommendedโ the declaration of ceasefire. There was also no specific criticism of Ethiopian government forces for targeting humanitarian workers.
Also read: UN Warns of Worsening Famine, More Clashes in Ethiopiaโs Tigray
However, India did call on the โEthiopian Government to sustain the ceasefire and find a way to address this conflict in a manner that serves the interests of all of its people in line with the federal constitutional provisionsโ.
Observers have described the feud between Tigrayโs leading political party, Tigray Peopleโs Liberation Front (TPLF) and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as largely an ideological issue over the federal nature of Ethiopia. TPLF had been the dominant party in the alliance which set up a federal system based on ethnic groups in 1994.
After Abiy came into power, his political reforms triggered suspicion in Tigray that Ethiopia was moving toward a unitary model of government.
Indiaโs remarks highlighting the federal constitutional provisions could be interpreted as a signal to Addis Ababa to follow the principle of federalism, which is essentially a key talking point of the West.
Out of the 12 UNSC members who delivered statements, at least eight specifically mentioned that Eritrean soldiers fighting the Tigray rebels alongside Ethiopian and Amhara militia should leave the province. Only Russia, China and Vietnam did not mention the presence in their interventions.
India called for an end to the โpresence of external armed actors in the Tigray regionโ, but did not mention Eritrea.
Speaking on behalf of โA3โ and St Vincent and Grenadines, Kenyan permanent representative Martin Kimani demanded the withdrawal of โany and all non-Ethiopian forces from Tigray and the standing down of all militias from neighboring federal statesโ.
Kenya also stated that the Security Council should always โlisten to Africaโ regarding African issues. โThe Council should also allow the continent the space to resolve its challenges with the support of the international community,โ said Kimani.
He also reminded it had requested the UNSC to give Ethiopia โspace to undertake its most recent electionsโ.
The Kenyan envoy noted that the Security Council needed to understand that this debate should โencourage and support African solutionsโ. โMeaning, in this instance, Ethiopian solutions starting in the order of ceasefire, humanitarian delivery, dialogue, reconciliation and responsibility,โ added Kimani.
While the US had remained silent on the role of the African Union, France and the UK talked about backing mediation efforts of the regional body.
The โA3โ statement also underscored commitment to the โsovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopiaโ. This was also explicitly cited by member states like India, Vietnam and France.
Indiaโs position on conflict zones like Crimea, Syria, Myanmar โ or now Tigray โ is framed through the Kashmir dispute, which inevitably leads to underlining a stateโs territorial integrity.
Last week, Council held a meeting on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), where the top UN official for political affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, urged the US to lift sanctions on Iran. She also called on Iran to facilitate non-proliferation projects at Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Fordow Facility and the Arak reactor.
India made no explicit mention of the lifting sanctions, but supported โfull and effective implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and resolution 2231โ.
While Tirumurti said that all JCPOA participants should adhere to their obligations, he urged โIran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA in the performance of its verification activities and addressing all outstanding issuesโ.
This week in the UNSC
All eyes will be on the July 8 meeting of the Security Council scheduled to vote on the draft resolution that will renew the mandate for a cross-border aid supply mechanism in Syria. Last year, China and Russia had vetoed two drafts before a resolution was finally passed.
At the last meeting on Syriaโs humanitarian situation in June, Russia had indicated that it was not in favour of cross-border mechanisms. There is also a meeting on Syriaโs humanitarian situation on Tuesday (July 6), but held behind closed doors.
Besides, on July 7, there is a briefing on the situation in DRC for the Council members. Later in the week, the UNSCโs DRC sanction committee is also scheduled to hold informal consultations.
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