The Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels has held a Webinar discussion on the 25th of February 2021, on the current situation in Ethiopia including updates on the situation in the Tigray region. The seminar was mainly organized for Media Houses and Think Tanks based in Brussels.
H.E. Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Attorney General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Mr. Mitiku Kassa, Commissioner of Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission and H.E. Mr. Tesfahun Gobezay, Director General of Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs were the guest speakers. Dr Gidon briefed the audience about the reform process and the operation in Tigray from legal and Human Rights points of view, Mr Mitiku gave an elaborate talk on how the government is conducting humanitarian support with a coverage of 3.5 million people to date. The overall policy on refugees in the country and the status of camps in the Tigray region as well as the efforts to repatriate Ethiopians in the Sudan camps was expounded by Mr Tesfahun.
Issues such as the need to investigate alleged human rights violations, the actual humanitarian situation in Tigray and access to the media were amongst the issues raised by participants and discussed widely.
Ethiopian Ambassador to the Belgium, Luxembourg and EU institution, H.E Hirut Zemene had moderated the webinar. In her remarks, Ambassador Hirut has emphasized the hugely imbalanced coverage of the situation in Ethiopia by various international media houses and think tanks. She noted, hence, the need to organize the webinar with the aim of addressing these imbalances.
