Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald)
Tigray: Current Challenges to the Rule of Law, Justice, and Accountability
By Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel
More than a year and a half after the Pretoria Agreement was signed to silence the guns in Tigray, the region remains a shattered landscape physically, emotionally, and legally. The so-called “peace” has neither brought closure nor delivered justice. Instead, the Tigrayan people are caught in a grim limbo: the violence has largely ceased, but impunity continues to thrive.
So what does justice look like in Tigray a region where close to a million people were killed, millions more displaced, rape was used systematically as a weapon of war, and starvation continues to be wielded as a silent, invisible siege?
The Illusion of Peace
The Pretoria Agreement, brokered under international pressure, was never a true peace deal; it was a ceasefire signed under duress. For the Ethiopian federal government, it allowed them to declare victory and pivot to a narrative of reconciliation. For Tigray, it was a painful compromise a temporary pause to stop the hemorrhaging.
But a ceasefire is not justice. And it is certainly not accountability.
To this day, not a single high-ranking military or political official from Ethiopia, Eritrea, or their allied forces has been held accountable for the atrocities committed in Tigray. The United Nations has documented systematic war crimes, including massacres of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, ethnic cleansing, and the use of sexual violence on an industrial scale. Yet international mechanisms for accountability have stalled undermined by geopolitical interests and a deliberate strategy of “moving on.”
Weaponized Silence and Institutional Paralysis
Tigray remains largely cut off from formal justice mechanisms. Federal courts lack legitimacy in the eyes of the local population, and Tigray’s own judiciary remains severely weakened after years of war. Survivors of atrocities including rape, torture, and mass killings face a justice system that is either unwilling or incapable of prosecuting those responsible.
There is no truth commission. No war crimes tribunal. No reparations. Instead, there is a dangerous push to normalize to pretend that reconstruction and development can replace justice.
Worse, the Ethiopian government has sought to obstruct international investigations. It lobbied hard to terminate the mandate of the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), cutting short the only credible international inquiry into the conflict.
Starvation as a Continuing Crime
Despite the formal end of hostilities, the Tigrayan population continues to suffer under de facto blockade conditions. Humanitarian aid is restricted, infrastructure remains in ruins, and hunger is widespread. These are not post-conflict reconstruction challenges they are ongoing manifestations of a policy that uses starvation as a tool of control.
The continued suffering of civilians under these conditions calls into question the very legitimacy of the post-war order. Peace, without accountability and justice, becomes not just hollow it becomes complicit.
Justice in the Absence of a State
Tigray’s political and civil institutions have been decimated. Local governance is fragile, with many parts of the region still under occupation by Eritrean and Amhara forces. This makes domestic accountability almost impossible. Survivors of war crimes have little to no access to redress or even to basic recognition of their suffering.
In this vacuum, civil society both within Ethiopia and in the diaspora has tried to fill the gap. Documentation efforts, survivor testimonies, and digital archives are being built. But these initiatives lack the power to enforce justice. They are acts of resistance in a landscape designed to forget.
What Justice Should Look Like
Justice in Tigray must be survivor-centered, independent, and free from the political constraints of Addis Ababa. This means:
A credible, internationally led war crimes tribunal to investigate and prosecute the architects of the atrocities.
Restitution and reparations for victims, especially survivors of sexual violence.
Truth-telling and memorialization, led by Tigrayans, not imposed from outside.
Full withdrawal of foreign forces, particularly Eritrean troops, whose continued presence defies both international law and the spirit of the Pretoria Agreement.
Unrestricted humanitarian access and the end of starvation as a policy tool.
Without these core pillars, any talk of “rebuilding” or “reconciliation” is premature and morally bankrupt.
Conclusion: A Ceasefire is Not a Clean Slate
Pretending that peace exists in Tigray is a dangerous fantasy. The international community’s eagerness to move on to prioritize stability over justice only deepens the wounds of a traumatized population. The Ethiopian government, meanwhile, continues to promote a narrative of national healing while resisting every effort to confront its role in one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century.
Justice delayed is justice denied. And in Tigray, justice is not just delayed — it is being buried.
If the world is serious about human rights and the rule of law, Tigray must not be forgotten. The question is not whether justice is possible it is whether the international community has the will to demand it.
Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel is Political Analyst, Peace Advocate
