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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

China votes ‘no’ on Tigray abuses probe by UN team, calls it interference in Ethiopia’s affairs

  • UN Human Rights Council meeting requested by EU voted to set up three-member team to investigate alleged abuses in the Ethiopian civil war
  • Just weeks before, Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated Beijing’s support for the Ethiopian government during an unscheduled stop in Addis Ababa

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A police officer examines a destroyed military truck in Kemise, Ethiopia. Photo: AFP
Jevans Nyabiage

China underlined its opposition to “any politicisation of human rights issues”, as the UN rights council in Geneva voted to set up a three-member team to investigate abuses in the Ethiopian civil war.

This comes after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s unannounced stop in Addis Ababa earlier this month, following a visit to Senegal where he co-chaired the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Wang’s December 1 stopover in the Ethiopian capital was interpreted as showing Beijing’s support for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government as it faces increased Western pressure over the 13-month-old conflict in the northern Tigray region.
Wang Yi and Demeke Mekonnen in Addis Ababa on December 1. Photo: Xinhua
Wang Yi and Demeke Mekonnen in Addis Ababa on December 1. Photo: Xinhua

Wang promised that China would support its long-time ally and stick to its principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.

China does “not meddle in the internal affairs of Ethiopia … [and] disagrees with the practice of some external forces to pressure Ethiopia for their own political purposes”, Wang said at a meeting with Demeke Mekonnen, the Ethiopian deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

China is a big investor in Ethiopia, and channelled US$13.7 billion in loans to Addis Ababa between 2000 and 2019.

It has previously vetoed attempts by some members of the UN Security Council, including the US, to impose sanctions on the Ethiopian government.

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