UNITED NATIONS, United States: Ethiopia is facing an “immense humanitarian crisis,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday, calling for Addis Ababa to grant “unhindered” aid access, a week after the country expelled seven UN officials.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting — the second in less than a week — to address the expulsion of seven UN officials, a decision that has raised fears of setting a precedent for other conflict zones.
The UN estimates conflict has driven hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions in northern Ethiopia.
Last year long-running tensions between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) erupted into fighting.
“The country is facing an immense humanitarian crisis that demands immediate action,” Guterres said.
“This makes last Thursday’s announcement by the government of Ethiopia to expel seven senior UN officials — most of them humanitarian staff — particularly disturbing.
“This unprecedented expulsion should be a matter of deep concern for us all as it relates to the core of relations between the UN and member States.”
Officials from Ethiopia were due to take part in the UN meeting.
Guterres, who has said more than five million people require humanitarian assistance in Tigray, urged Ethiopian authorities to allow the UN to deliver humanitarian aid “without hindrance and to facilitate and enable our work with the urgency that this situation demands.”
He also criticized Ethiopia for not following the procedures in place in case of problems with UN officials within countries.
On Friday, the UN Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the expulsion of officials who were accused of “meddling” in Ethiopia’s internal affairs and of political manipulation of humanitarian aid.
The United Nations believes that declaring UN officials “persona non grata” is illegal because it violates several articles of the UN charter.
It has complained to Ethiopia in a letter seen by AFP, saying the UN has not been given “any information” on the officials’ alleged actions.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that Ethiopia has not provided any additional information.
The meeting on Wednesday was requested by the United States, Ireland, Estonia, Norway, Britain and France.
On Friday, the Security Council could not agree on a statement proposed by Ireland due to opposition from China and Russia.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an ambassador of a Security Council member state told AFP that “we should move on to political negotiations.”
The expulsions sent shockwaves through the UN, where such moves are rare.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, whose recent statements about the “blocking” of humanitarian aid and a growing risk of famine could be behind the decision, dismissed the allegations against the UN as false at the Security Council meeting on Friday, but did not say what they were, another ambassador of a council member told AFP.
The ambassador also said that the expulsions in Ethiopia could set a dangerous precedent for conflicts in Myanmar or Afghanistan.
“If we don’t resolve the situation in Ethiopia, it could create a snowball effect,” the ambassador added.
UN chief warns of ‘immense’ Ethiopian crisis
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UN chief warns of ‘immense’ Ethiopian crisis
- The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to address the expulsion of 7 UN officials
- The UN estimates conflict has driven hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions in northern Ethiopia
US abstains in UN vote voicing support for Ukraine
- The resolution also called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and “comprehensive, just and lasting peace“
- The US delegation had pressed for a separate vote on paragraphs involving Ukraine’s territorial integrity and international law but this idea was rejected
UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly voiced support for Ukraine Tuesday on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, with the United States among countries abstaining from the vote.
The assembly passed a resolution saying it was committed to “the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
It passed by a tally of 107 countries in favor, 12 against and 51 abstentions, which included the United States.
The resolution also called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and “comprehensive, just and lasting peace.”
The US delegation had pressed for a separate vote on paragraphs involving Ukraine’s territorial integrity and international law but this idea was rejected.
The transition from Joe Biden to Donald Trump in the White House last year has seen firm, unconditional US support for Ukraine cool dramatically.
Trump has brought Russian leader Vladimir Putin back in from the diplomatic cold and Washington has repeatedly refused to condemn the Russian invasion of 2022.
US deputy ambassador Tammy Bruce said she welcomed the UN appeal for a ceasefire.
But she said the resolution includes “language that is likely to distract” from diplomatic efforts to end the war rather than support them. She did not identify these words.
Still, leaders of the G7 global powers, including Trump, on Tuesday reaffirmed their “unwavering support for Ukraine” in a statement on the fourth anniversary of the invasion.
A month after Trump returned to power in January 2025, the United States voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a “just and lasting peace” to end the war.
The US delegation later won Security Council passage of a Russian-backed resolution that called for peace but made no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, frustrating Ukraine’s European allies.
Until then, the council had failed to speak out on the war because Russia consistently used its veto power.
“Despite peace efforts led by the US and supported by Europe, Russia continues to demonstrate no genuine willingness to stop this aggression,” Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said.
Russia’s deputy ambassador Anna Evstigneeva answered, saying Ukraine should focus on diplomacy to end the war “rather than initiating yet another politicized vote.”
In Washington, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US Olga Stefanishyna urged the Trump administration to intensify pressure on Russia.
“We hope that the US government this particular day... will get to the understanding that the language which is understood by Russians is not the dialog or diplomatic effort, it’s the pressure,” Stefanishyna told reporters.
She expressed hope that US lawmakers would soon pass a bill imposing tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries doing business with Russia in order to choke its economy and ability to finance the war.
Stefanishyna added that Ukraine is in desperate need of air defenses at a time when Russia has been intensifying its attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure during a brutal winter.
While acknowledging that “it’s too premature to speak about any settlement in the nearest period of time,” she said that any deal to end the war must include powerful US and EU Security guarantees.
