Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, the African Union has been involved. The problem is that it is not necessarily seen as an impartial body. The African Union is based in Addis Ababa, as you may or may not know. The former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has inserted himself quite actively in this pro

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, I think so.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Whether it has the capacity, I don't know. Whenever I'm in Ethiopia, I see Canadian aid shipments, so I suppose it is possible. I'm not sure how much aid Canada provides. The problem is that groups become more amenable to making concessions when they're under military pressure,

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Is that directed towards me?

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I have no doubt that it is happening. At what point it becomes genocide, in the sense that you want to acknowledge it, I'm not sure. I'm not sure it would be constructive. It would, I suspect, further alienate the government in Addis Ababa. However, I have no doubt that the gover

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, the obvious things are.... If Canada wants to be as even-handed as possible, which I assume it does, it can offer venues for negotiations or support and encourage negotiations. Second, it can apply economic pressure on the government to the extent that it's possible, being

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, my answer is, again, to raise.... I feel that I'm not being very helpful, that I'm causing more problems than anything else. If there are problems to be solved, at some point there has to be a decision made about what Canada wants out of this situation: Are you wanting to

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm just wondering if you'd clarify the question. Are you asking about the leadership of the Tigrayans in the international community?

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I guess my problem is that there are limitations on what can be done. I suppose the leadership is disappointing. The problem I always have is that I hear people saying there's a lack of political will. I'm not always clear on specifically what the international community thinks s

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer this question, because I don't think they've been able to deal with this. Twenty-five years ago, I met with one of your colleagues, John Bosley, in Addis Ababa, and he told me that there was very little that Canada could do—maybe I can

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, for humanitarian efforts, then, you have to find a way to get the parties on the ground to allow humanitarian efforts in the country. Right now, the government in Addis Ababa is blocking that. Of course, it is a sovereign state, and it has been quite effective in blocking a

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would say, whatever resources they have at their disposal. The problem is that, really, the only levers we have are things like aid, but aid is exactly what is needed, so it's not clear.... Of course, there are things like diplomatic recognition, but they will see the Tigrayans

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  This is a very good question again. It is not clear to me that there's an obvious solution. I'm reluctant to put it in those terms. The Derg was the Marxist regime that was overthrown in May 1991. Since that time, there has been some progress. Governments and their regional lead

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think that's a terrific question. I'm not sure that it is possible. An issue that we deal with in any kind of ethnic or national conflict is that the belligerents will often see themselves as representatives of their respective peoples. Particularly in the case of the TPLF, b

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak to you about the current crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. In recent days, the situation in Ethiopia may have reached a turning point as Tigray becomes subject to an assault from two, possibly three armies: one, the Ethio