APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) U.S. President Joe Biden renewed for the second time the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14046 with respect to Ethiopia imposing sanctions on certain persons with respect to the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Ethiopia.
President Biden first announced the Executive Order on 17 Sept. 2021, in the backdrop of then ongoing war in Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia, ‘which has been marked by “widespread violence, atrocities, and serious human rights abuse, including those involving ethnic-based violence, rape and other forms of gender-based violence, and obstruction of humanitarian operations.
“The instability has caused an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat,” it said.
Renewing the EO for the second time, the White House said Ethiopia “continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14046 of September 17, 2021, must continue in effect beyond September 17, 2023.”
The widespread humanitarian crisis precipitated by the violent conflict in northern Ethiopia has left millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance and has placed an entire region on the brink of famine.
While maintaining pressure on those persons responsible for the crisis, the United States will seek to ensure that appropriate personal remittances to non-blocked persons and humanitarian assistance to at-risk populations can flow to Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region through legitimate and transparent channels, including governments, international organizations, and non-profit organizations.
The United States supports ongoing international efforts to promote a negotiated ceasefire and political resolution of this crisis, to ensure the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia, and to promote the unity, territorial integrity, and stability of Ethiopia.
MG/abj/APA