Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Oct. 28th, 2022

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

What's my time looking like right now?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sameer Zuberi]

You have another three minutes.

Go ahead.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

All right. Thank you.

For the Eritrean group that is here, two weeks ago, Eritrean security arrested a Catholic bishop who had been vocal about violence and atrocities in Tigray.

Do you know of this situation? Is this Catholic bishop still detained in Eritrea?

[Lambros Kiriakakos]

I do not speak for the Government of Eritrea. I speak for the Coalition of Eritrean Canadian Communities and associations. We follow closely the situation in Eritrea. I'm actually speaking to you now from inside Eritrea, where I have been since October 5.

I would like, though, if you will allow me, to first empathize with our Tigrayan brothers and sisters, particularly the lady who presented here this evening.

I do want, though, to warn this committee that the massive disinformation propaganda and roots can give you a totally different direction as a committee as you're collecting this data. The genocide propaganda started on November 4. As the war had not started, the campaign of genocide had been pre-emptively started. I would humbly ask you to consider your information and look at the place and the path of the start of this genocide accusation.

In regard to the Eritrean implication of that, things will come up and become more clear in the future. Unfortunately, we do not have too much information at this time, while the conflict is going on.

There are two things we would like you to consider, though.

First, the Ethiopian government warned that 60,000 Eritrean uniforms were produced inside Tigray in order to fake Eritrean soldiers—

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Kiriakakos.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sameer Zuberi]

You have 15 seconds.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

For the Security and Justice for Tigrayans group, I'm just wondering what role the church can play in Ethiopia to bring peace to the region.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sameer Zuberi]

We'll have to allow them to answer the next questioners.

We'll continue on to Mr. Sidhu, please, for seven minutes.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the witnesses for taking the time to be with us this morning.

Thank you for your insights and your courage to share some of your experiences.

In 2021, Minister Joly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke with Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, to convey Canada's concerns regarding the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation and military escalation in the country. Moreover, Minister Joly urged for immediate actions by the Government of Ethiopia to draw the conflict to a peaceful end.

As well, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, about the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia. Prime Minister Trudeau called for immediate cessation of hostilities and implementation of measures to ensure unhindered access to humanitarian aid. He underscored the importance of African Union-led peace talks that began on that day in South Africa and commended Prime Minister Abiy and his commitment to engage his government in the negotiations.

I would like to ask Mr. Asfaw what your thoughts are on the efforts made by the Government of Ethiopia towards a peace process?

[Dr. Tihut Asfaw]

Did you say Ms. Asfaw? It's not Mr. Asfaw. Is it me?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Yes, please.

[Dr. Tihut Asfaw]

The Ethiopian government has started providing humanitarian services in the areas they have taken back from the TPLF. They are currently working on providing electricity services. Banking services will resume very soon. There is so much positive progress that we are seeing, and it's very encouraging.

It's very unfortunate that it's the people who are suffering through this conflict—the people of Tigray, Amhara, Afar—and by working together, I am sure there will be a solution to this problem.

What we have seen is that there is an interest on the part of the government to continue to pursue and take back the places that are under TPLF siege. They will continue to provide the services. That's what we have heard so far.

I don't know if I have answered your question, but this is what we are seeing these days.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Thank you.

How do I pronounce your last name?

[Dr. Tihut Asfaw]

It's As-fa.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Ms. Asfaw, as you explained, the situation is quite complex.

What do you see as a path to reconciliation of the conflict? What are the solutions and the path forward?

[Dr. Tihut Asfaw]

In my opinion, true reconciliation will come from within Ethiopia. We have social capital, faith-based institutions, and we have relationships.

One thing I mentioned at the beginning is that the ethnic-based policy we have is what is dividing us. We are all intermarried. I have relationships in families within the Tigray community. I have relationships with other communities as well.

We all want to have peace. We all want to have a quick resolution. We don't want any mother to cry anymore. We don't want any children to be taken to war. That's what we are seeing. The TPLF has been taking over young people and is actually forcing families to give up their children to fight. We don't want that to happen anymore. I think the solution will come from within.

What I would recommend is to have a discussion, maybe national reconciliation.... Canada can also help in facilitating this kind of discussion. I'm sure a solution will come from within, not from outside. That's my opinion.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat, who just completed his visit to Canada for the first high-level dialogue between Canada and the African Union Commission. Prime Minister Trudeau and Chairperson Faki discussed the situation in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, security and humanitarian challenges in the Sahel, and the threat of terrorism and food insecurity across the continent.

This question is for Dr. Abel Giday Kebedom.

Can you speak to how the ongoing conflict has affected food security in Tigray and the surrounding regions?

[Dr. Abel Giday Kebedom]

I was there at the start of the war, and Tigray was one of the regions that had better health care. Actually, in the whole of Ethiopia, we have had this problem of malnutrition, as we are a developing country. Before the siege, the prevalence of malnutrition and lack of basic food supplies in hospitals was at almost 50%, but after the siege, among the children admitted to the primary referring hospital in the region, it was 100%. You can imagine it; you have probably seen horrific pictures of women and children with malnutrition.

By the way, my medical doctor friends have been out of salary for about two years. I had the chance to talk to one of my friends from Ayder via a phone call. He told me that he cannot sustain life. He's a medical doctor, a subspecialist, and he cannot sustain life.

The lack of food and basic services is alarming. As you have seen from the reports, 5.2 million are on the brink of famine. They cannot eat regular meals. They are eating different plants and, if they can find it, one piece of bread a day. Let alone the general population, even people considered to be in the highest economic stratum are starving to death. They are waiting for the 12.5 kilograms of grain per month in aid from USAID.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sameer Zuberi]

Thank you.

We're going to continue with our next questioner, Monsieur Brunelle-Duceppe.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses who have taken the trouble to come here today for this extremely important study.

I'm going to hurry, because I have a lot of questions.

Good morning, Ms. Mulugeta.

Some data tells us that 120,000 women were raped during the first phase of the war in Tigray.

Can you tell us about the situation of women in Tigray during the second phase of this war?

[Feven Mulugeta, Nurse, Security and Justice for Tigrayans Canada]

As Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe said, an estimated 120,000 Tigrayan women have been heinously raped by the invading Eritrean forces, Amhara militia and Ethiopian troops. Unfortunately, there are no ongoing independent investigations on the ground, so the number could be significantly higher. It's only going to get worse in the second round of genocide currently happening on our watch—on your committee's watch.

We implore you to be a voice for the women of Tigray. Back in April 2021, the UNFPA estimated that over 25,000 women were going to seek help for rape, but that number has not been updated since. It's the Tigray bureau of health that estimates over 120,000 women have been raped.

The rape we've seen is just...it's the hallmark of the genocide, unfortunately. One woman named Sanait was raped by multiple Eritrean troops, then tied to a tree. When she woke up from her coma, she found her dead son at her feet. It is the cruelty of the acts, not just random occurrences or a side effect of war. This is a systematic, deliberate attempt to wipe out the people of Tigray, using Tigray's reproductive health as a system to eradicate them. As the women were being raped, they were told they need to change their identities, that their bloodline needs to be purified and that Tigrayan woman should not give birth. This has been well documented by various organizations, such as the UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and so forth.

We implore Canada to use its feminist foreign policy to help the women of Tigray. They're relying on the international community to intervene, as the federal government is not protecting them.

The second round of genocide is starting now. The invading troops, Eritrean troops, Amhara militia and Ethiopian troops are back in Tigray. The women of Tigray are terrified. As you heard in the previous testimony, by Dr. Kebedom, many have a lot of mental illnesses now, understandably, because of the trauma they've been through. There's so much intergenerational trauma and trauma happening within the Tigrayan community—to Tigrayan women in particular, because their bodies have been used as a war zone by the Ethiopian government.

We fear for our sisters and all of our families in Tigray, and we implore the Canadian government to please use its feminist foreign policy to stand up for them...actually use it.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you very much.

Doctor Giday Kebedom, you worked in the hospital. Can you describe the physical and psychological injuries of these women? Did you witness it and, if so, what were their psychological and physical injuries?

[Dr. Abel Giday Kebedom]

It's very tough. Sometimes there were actually terrible stories to hear. One woman was raped in front of her husband. He was killed after they raped her, and her two children were looking at her. If you allowed me to, by the way, I could speak the whole day with a bunch of stories.

I have been hearing from fellow brothers and sisters that notifying the TPLF, TPLF, TPLF.... I'm not here representing the TPLF. I'm here representing humanity. That's what I do for a living. Had this been occurring anywhere else outside of Tigray, I would have been standing on the side of humanity. I'm not here for a popularity speech. I'm not here to respond to someone who is telling me that I'm representing some political party. I am not a member of any political party.

Just for your information, I was one of the physicians who treated the Ethiopian National Defense Force and the Eritrean army after they conquered Mekelle—the injured troops, not only the people. We couldn't even find medical equipment, medical supplies or medicine to help the injured troops from both the Eritrean army and the Ethiopian National Defense Force.

The international community can do independent research and investigation on the human violence. I believe the world is going to regret what's happening in Tigray, because in the whole region, six million people are starving to death. There is no medicine. There is no vaccination. You don't have to be that smart to predict that the vaccine-preventable diseases that are eradicated from the world will definitely flourish in the next decade in Tigray. My daughter, who recently celebrated her second birthday, hasn't had the chance to get vaccinated.

I'll tell you this as I stand here: I'm not a politician, and I'm not going to ask for a weapon—no—but I'm going to ask for unfettered humanitarian access to Tigray for the sake of humanity.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sameer Zuberi]

Thank you.

We'll continue with our next questioner.

I notice that there are some hands up on the screen. Please communicate with the clerk directly by email if you are putting your hand up on the screen. We recognize people based upon questions, in this instance.

Ms. McPherson, you have seven minutes.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to say thank you so much for coming and telling your stories. I know how difficult it is to hear these stories, so I can only imagine how difficult it is to share them.

Ms. Arefayne, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through. I honour the bravery that you are showing by being here and sharing that with us today.

I would also like to ask that the letter that has been submitted to all members of this committee be submitted to the analysts to be part of this study.

I also want to apologize again, on behalf of this committee, that witnesses were invited.... I am appalled by some of the members of the committee, that they allowed witnesses to come and testify here in such an obnoxious and assaultive manner. I'm deeply sorry that you had to experience that.

Mr. Kapila, I might start with you, if I can. Can you tell me why there are still Eritrean troops present in Tigray?