Beyond the Ceasefire: The Continuing Crisis in Tigray
About this Event
SPEAKERS
Our guest speakers for this hybrid event are:
- Dr Teklehaymanot Weldemichael, from UoM's Global Development Institute (research profile)
- Dr Sarah Vaughan, co-author of Understanding Ethiopia's Tigray War (book)
ABOUT
It has been four years since the signing of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), which temporarily halted the Tigray war — one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century and one of the most neglected human rights and humanitarian crises of recent decades. Yet, four years on, the agreement has delivered little beyond a fragile and increasingly precarious pause in large-scale armed fighting. War has recently re-escalated, and Tigray has once again become a battlefield.
Amid shifting frontlines, reports of armed actors gaining or losing control of territory, and growing concerns over escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the devastating impact on civilians has been pushed further out of view. The humanitarian and human rights situation in Tigray remains severely underreported and inadequately addressed, even as communities continue to endure the consequences of war and the failure to secure a lasting peace.
Over a million people remain displaced, while homes, farms, businesses, public services and other vital infrastructure have been destroyed. Many communities continue to face deeply inadequate and inhumane living conditions. The unresolved consequences of mass atrocities and other serious human rights violations, the lack of accountability and justice, and the failure to implement key provisions of the ceasefire have compounded civilian suffering. Meanwhile, unresolved political disputes and renewed armed confrontations are plunging the region into deeper humanitarian and human rights crisis.
In this seminar, Dr Sarah Vaughan and Dr Teklehaymanot Weldemichel will examine the current humanitarian and human rights situation in Tigray, six years after the outbreak of the devastating war and four years since the signing of the ceasefire agreement intended to bring relief to millions of civilians. Bringing civilian experiences and the ongoing humanitarian crisis back into focus, they will consider what is happening beyond the battlefield headlines and why the suffering of affected communities continues to receive so little attention.
The speakers will also explore why the ceasefire has failed to develop into a negotiated political settlement and lasting peace, examining the unresolved issues that continue to shape the crisis in Tigray and Ethiopia’s wider political landscape, including rising tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The seminar will consider what has, and has not, been achieved since the ceasefire, the challenges facing displaced and conflict-affected communities, and the prospects for accountability, civilian protection and a sustainable peace in Tigray and the wider Horn of Africa region.
PRACTICAL
- In-person location is: A2.6 in Ellen Wilkinson Building
- Online via Zoom. Link on day: https://zoom.us/j/96143900853
- Any accessibility questions to [email protected]
PROFILES
Dr Sarah Vaughan is a social scientist who has worked on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa since the late 1980s, advising a service of governmental, multilateral, academic and non-governmental bodies. She was for 20 years an Honorary Fellow of the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh (2001-2021) and is a Principal consultant of The Policy Practice. She is a co-author of The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian Political Life (Vaughan & Tronvoll, 2004, Sida); Changing Rural Ethiopia: Community Transformations (Pankhurst, Bevan, Dom, Tiumellisan & Vaughan, eds, 2018, Tsehai); and Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray War (Plaut & Vaughan, 2023, Hurst).
Dr. Teklehaymanot Weldemichel is a human geographer and Lecturer in Environment and Development at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. His research examines the intersections of politics, environmental governance, social and environmental justice, humanitarianism, conflict, and conservation, with a particular focus on how state and market actors shape relationships between people and their environments in contested landscapes. He has closely followed the Tigray War and has written extensively about its political, humanitarian, and environmental dimensions.
HOSTS
Organised by the Humanitarian & Conflict Response Institute (HCRI), a research and teaching centre at University of Manchester. More on HCRI at: https://www.hcri.ac.uk/
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
