Northern Ethiopia & Tigray
Northern Ethiopia & Tigray
The conflict that began in Tigray in November 2020 remains one of the bloodiest wars of recent years, with estimates putting the death toll at 600,000 and widespread reports of massacres and conflict related sexual violence including gang rape, mass rape and sexual torture. When survivors’ groups approached LAW at the height of these reports, almost nothing was being done to pursue accountability.
LAW represents Tigrayan victims and witnesses of the conflict and has built the two most significant legal avenues open to them: a communication against the state of Ethiopia before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and a criminal complaint in Germany against named officials. Despite the 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the situation remains volatile and the case for independent truth and justice processes has not diminished.
Latest on Northern Ethiopia & Tigray
Press Release: African Commission Hears Landmark Case on Ethiopia’s Abuses in Tigray
PRESS RELEASE Major Step Toward Justice: African Commission Hears Landmark Case on Ethiopia’s Abuses in Tigray Banjul, The Gambia…
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Press Release: Victims of the Tigray conflict file the first-ever criminal complaint in Germany against senior Ethiopian and Eritrean government and military officials
Press Release Victims of the Tigray conflict file the first-ever criminal complaint in Germany against senior Ethiopian and Eritrean government…
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Just Security: Ethiopia’s Atrocity Victims Broaden UN Appeal After Human Rights Council’s Failure
The United Nations Human Rights Council, wrapping up its 54th ordinary session, completed its voting on resolutions Oct. 13, a…
Read MoreWhat we do in Northern Ethiopia & Tigray
Gender Equality & GBV
Conflict related sexual violence was a defining feature of the Tigray conflict, and it sits at the centre of both of LAW’s legal actions. LAW made an oral submission to the UN Committee against Torture on behalf of Tigrayan survivors, arguing that the sexual and gender based violence they experienced constituted torture. Survivors of sexual violence are among the complainants in the German criminal case.
Accountability & Rule of Law
- Working with the Pan-African Lawyers Union and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, LAW filed a landmark complaint against Ethiopia before the African Commission in February 2022, the first and only complaint against the state itself.
- The Commission ordered provisional measures in October 2022, heard oral arguments on 14 May 2025 on behalf of 11 Tigrayan victims, and found the communication admissible in August 2025.
- In March 2025 eight survivors filed the first ever criminal complaint in Germany against twelve senior Ethiopian and Eritrean officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Transformative Justice
The admissibility decision opens a door not only for Tigrayan survivors but for victims across the continent seeking to bring complaints against states for serious violations. LAW’s work in Ethiopia is built around the insistence of victims and survivors that their experiences be recorded and not forgotten, and around the argument that independent truth and justice processes must be established while patterns of violations continue in the region.
Victims of the Tigray conflict file the first-ever criminal complaint in Germany against senior Ethiopian and Eritrean government and military officials
Eight survivors of the forgotten conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, including a former humanitarian aid worker and a former interim government official, have filed a groundbreaking criminal complaint with the German Federal Public Prosecutor alleging that twelve senior Ethiopian and Eritrean government officials and military officers committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict.
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Voices from the Frontline — Northern Ethiopia & Tigray
"Your efforts give hope not only to these survivors, but to millions of Tigrayans who have endured unimaginable suffering. This hearing is a vital step toward accountability."
