,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #gih  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december 
#i1 #bjbj,mr4 ,risch 7for himself and   
,mr4 ,cardin7 submitted the following   
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,calling on the           
,government of ,ethiopia and the ,tigray
 ,people's ,liberation ,front to cease  
all hostilities1 protect the human      
rights of all ,ethiopians1 and pursue a 
peaceful resolution of the conflict in  
the ,tigray region of ,ethiopia4        
,whereas the ,united ,states and the    
,federal ,democratic ,republic of       
,ethiopia share a strong relationship   
built over a century of diplomatic      
relations2 ,whereas ,ethiopia is the    
second most populous country in ,africa 
and plays a key role in advancing       
security and stability across           
sub-,saharan ,africa1 including as a top
 contributor of uniformed personnel to  
,united ,nations peacekeeping missions2 

,whereas ,ethiopia has been beset in    
recent years by multiple human rights   
and humanitarian challenges1 including  
targeted ethnic violence1 natural       
disasters1 and political unrest1 leading
 to the internal displacement of more   
than #a1hjj1jjj ,ethiopians in #bjbj    
alone2 ,whereas tensions between ,prime 
,minister ,abiy ,ahmed's ,prosperity    
,party and the ,tigray ,people's        
,liberation ,front1 which was part of   
the ruling coalition in ,ethiopia until 
late #bjai1 escalated when the ,tigray  
,people's ,liberation ,front held       
elections in the region of ,tigray on   
,september #i1 #bjbj1 despite the       
decision by the ,federal ,government of 
,ethiopia to postpone general elections 
due to the ,,covid-#ai pandemic2        
,whereas the ,tigray ,people's          
,liberation ,front rejected the         
postponement of elections and considered
 the extension of the term of the       
,federal ,government to be              
unconstitutional1 and the ,federal      

,government subsequently deemed the     
,tigray elections illegitimate2         
,whereas1 in the early hours of         
,november #d1 #bjbj1 the ,tigray        
,people's ,liberation ,front carried out
 an attack on the ,northern ,command of 
the ,ethiopian ,national ,defense       
,forces2 ,whereas ,prime ,minister ,abiy
 then ordered a military offensive and  
#f-month state of emergency in the      
,tigray region1 which has evolved into  
an armed conflict in the region and     
surrounding areas between the ,ethiopian
 ,national ,defense ,forces and the     
,tigray ,people's ,liberation ,front1   
with reports of thousands of deaths2    
,whereas the ,tigray ,people's          
,liberation ,front claims it acted in   
self-defense and has accused the        
,ethiopian ,national ,defense ,forces of
 striking some civilian targets2        
,whereas the ,tigray ,people's          
,liberation ,front admits to having     
fired missiles at #b airports and having
 launched rockets across the border into

 ,eritrea in what they say was          
retaliation for air strikes in the      
,tigray region2 ,whereas ,amnesty       
,international confirmed that1 on       
,november #i1 #bjbj1 likely hundreds of 
ethnic ,amhara people were stabbed or   
hacked to death in the town of          
,mai-,kadra in the ,tigray region1 and  
some witnesses attributed the killings  
to retreating ,tigray ,people's         
,liberation ,front forces2 ,whereas the 
,ethiopian ,human ,rights ,commission   
has expressed concern over the arrests  
of journalists in connection to the     
conflict in the ,tigray region and      
called on the ,government of ,ethiopia  
to respect due process rights2 ,whereas 
the closures of roads and airports      
servicing the ,tigray region have       
contributed to shortages of fuel and    
other necessary goods and impeded the   
delivery of humanitarian assistance to  
more than #b1jjj1jjj people already in  
need of aid1 including approximately    
#ajj1jjj ,eritrean refugees and hundreds

 of ,united ,states citizens living in  
the region2 ,whereas the ,government of 
,ethiopia has shut down electricity1    
banking1 internet1 and telephone        
services in the ,tigray region1 creating
 additional challenges for the delivery 
of humanitarian services and the        
protection of civilians2 ,whereas the   
conflict has already forced             
approximately #ej1jjj ,ethiopians to    
flee to ,sudan1 and aid agencies warn   
that more than #bjj1jjj refugees could  
enter ,sudan1 ,djibouti1 and ,eritrea in
 the next #f months2 ,whereas the       
,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for
 ,human ,rights warned that there is a  
risk this situation will spiral totally 
out of control1 leading to heavy        
casualties and destruction1 as well as  
mass displacement within ,ethiopia      
itself and across borders2 ,whereas1    
according to international human rights 
organizations1 ,tigrayans have been     
suspended from their jobs and prevented 
from leaving the country1 and there are 

reports of surveillance and mass arrests
 of citizens of ,ethiopia based on their
 ethnicity2 ,whereas the ,united        
,nations ,special ,adviser on the       
,responsibility to ,protect and the     
,acting ,special ,adviser on the        
,prevention of ,genocide have expressed 
deep concern over reports of incidents  
of ethnically and religiously motivated 
hate speech1 incitement to violence and 
serious human rights violations         
including arbitrary arrests1 killings1  
displacement of populations and         
destruction of property in various parts
 of the country1 stressing that the     
ethnically motivated attacks and        
reported ethnic profiling of citizens   
constitute a dangerous trajectory that  
heightens the risk of atrocity crimes2  
,whereas the conflict in the ,tigray    
region occurs within the context of     
democratic transition in ,ethiopia1 an  
uptick in targeted ethnic violence in   
,ethiopia1 ongoing talks1 mediated by   
the ,african ,union1 between ,ethiopia1 

,egypt1 and ,sudan over the filling and 
use of the ,grand ,ethiopian            
,renaissance ,dam1 ,ethiopia's          
rapprochement with ,eritrea1 and the    
fragile democratic transition and peace 
process in ,sudan2 ,whereas the conflict
 in the ,tigray region jeopardizes the  
security and stability not only of      
,ethiopia1 but of the broader ,east     
,africa region1 particularly as         
,ethiopia withdraws its troops from     
,somalia to support domestic needs1     
including the operation in the ,tigray  
region2 ,whereas ,african ,union        
,chairman ,cyril ,ramaphosa1 ,president 
of ,south ,africa1 has appointed        
,joaquim ,chissano1 former ,president of
 ,mozambique1 ,ellen ,johnson-,sirleaf1 
former ,president of ,liberia1 and      
,kgalema ,motlanthe1 former ,president  
of ,south ,africa1 as envoys to mediate 
a resolution to the conflict in the     
,tigray region1 but the ,government of  
,ethiopia has dismissed calls for       
mediation as of ,december #bjbj2        

,whereas1 on ,november #bh1 #bjbj1 the  
,government of ,ethiopia claimed victory
 in the conflict after a series of      
artillery strikes on ,mekelle1 the      
capital city of the ,tigray region1 with
 ,prime ,minister ,abiy announcing that 
his forces had completed and ceased     
military operations and would shift     
focus to rebuilding the region and      
providing humanitarian assistance while 
,federal police attempt to apprehend    
leaders of the ,tigray ,people's        
,liberation ,front2 ,whereas1 although  
,prime ,minister ,abiy stated that no   
civilians were harmed by the operation  
in ,mekelle1 the communications blackout
 in the ,tigray region impedes          
verification of that claim and the      
,international ,committee of the ,red   
,cross reported on ,november #bi1 #bjbj1
 that #hj percent of patients at ,ayder 
,referral ,hospital in ,mekelle were    
suffering trauma injuries2 ,whereas1 on 
,november #bi1 #bjbj1 ,debretsion       
,gebremichael1 leader of the ,tigray    

,people's ,liberation ,front1 disputed  
,prime ,minister ,abiy's claims of      
victory and told reporters that ,tigray 
,people's ,liberation ,front forces were
 withdrawing from ,mekelle but would    
continue fighting the ,federal          
,government2 and ,whereas ,united       
,nations ,high ,commissioner for        
,refugees ,filippo ,grandi noted that   
although the ,government of ,ethiopia   
announced the completion of military    
operations in the ,tigray region1 it    
does not mean the conflict is finished3 
,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the        
,senate-- 7#a7 strongly disapproves of  
the escalation of political tensions    
between the ,government of ,ethiopia and
 the ,tigray ,people's ,liberation      
,front into armed conflict and condemns 
in the strongest terms any and all      
violence against civilians1 such as the 
reported mass killings in ,mai-,kadra1  
,ethiopia2  7#b7 appreciates the        
readiness of ,sudan and ,djibouti to    
welcome refugees fleeing the conflict in

 the ,tigray region of ,ethiopia and    
supports the de-escalation efforts led  
by the ,african ,union2  7#c7 calls on  
the ,government of ,ethiopia to         
immediately and fully restore           
electricity1 banking1 telephone1 and    
internet service in the ,tigray region2 
7#d7 urges all parties to the conflict  
to-- 7,a7 cease all violence and refrain
 from actions that could spread or      
escalate the conflict1 including attacks
 on international or civilian targets2  
7,b7 engage in good faith in regional   
and international mediation efforts to  
end the conflict and commit to a        
credible1 inclusive dialogue towards a  
sustainable resolution of political     
grievances2  7,c7 comply with           
international humanitarian law1         
guarantee unfettered humanitarian access
 to areas affected by the conflict1 and 
take all possible steps to protect the  
safety of civilians1 including refugees1
 displaced persons1 and humanitarian aid
 workers2  7,d7 respect and promote the 

rights of all people in ,ethiopia to    
free expression1 political              
participation1 and due process without  
discrimination based on ethnicity or    
religion2 and  7,e7 allow for1 and      
cooperate with1 independent and         
transparent investigations of any       
alleged human rights abuses committed in
 the course of the conflict and hold    
perpetrators to account2 and  7#e7 urges
 the ,secretary of ,state1 the          
,secretary of the ,treasury1 and the    
,administrator of the ,united ,states   
,agency for ,international ,development1
 in coordination with the heads of other
 relevant ,federal departments and      
agencies1 to-- 7,a7 engage at the       
highest levels with leaders of the      
,government of ,ethiopia and the ,tigray
 ,people's ,liberation ,front to        
encourage dialogue to address the root  
causes of the conflict1 achieve         
sustainable peace1 and mitigate the     
humanitarian crisis2  7,b7 end the pause
 of all non-life-sustaining assistance  

to ,ethiopia and support programming to 
meet immediate humanitarian needs1      
including of refugees and internally    
displaced persons1 advance nonviolent   
conflict resolution and reconciliation1 
and aid democratic transition in        
,ethiopia2  7,c7 consider imposing      
targeted sanctions on any political or  
military officials found responsible for
 violations of human rights carried out 
in the course of the conflict2  7,d7    
take all possible diplomatic steps to   
prevent further mass atrocities in      
,ethiopia2 and  7,e7 maintain close     
coordination with international allies  
and multilateral organizations regarding
 efforts to address the conflict in     
,ethiopia and bring attention to the    
conflict in international fora1         
including the ,united ,nations ,security
 ,council4