Madam Speaker, the second petition is with respect to the Tigray conflict that has rocked Ethiopia since November of last year.
The petitioners recognize that credible reports indicate that war crimes, such as indiscriminate shelling of civilian towns and villages, extrajudicial killings, at least one large-scale massacre, looting and sexual violence, have all occurred in the Tigray region in Ethiopia.
Humanitarian actors are blocked from helping the desperate victims of the violence. The government has a record of refusing to act or even acknowledging when human rights abuses are clearly taking place, as is evident by cabinet's abstention when Parliament voted to declare the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang a genocide.
The petitioners implore the government not to ignore the tragic situation in Ethiopia by immediately calling for an end to the violence, for humanitarian access to the region, for international investigation into war crimes and to engage with the government involvement in the conflict to help ensure the integrity of their democratic institutions are protected.