The UN Human Rights Council voted on Friday to send international independent investigators into conflict-hit Ethiopia amid alarm over alleged atrocities. 

The council’s decision is part of an effort to seek accountability for any human rights violations that may have been committed by any side of the conflict. Ambassador Zenebe Kebede, Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the UN Office at Geneva accused the human rights body of being used as an “instrument of political pressure,” and said that his government “will not cooperate with any mechanisms that may be imposed on it because this is… a deliberate destabilization effort.”

Nada al-Nashif, the deputy rights chief, said in the Friday remote session that the UN is continuing to receive “credible reports” that all sides in the conflict have been committing severe human rights violations. She warned that generalized violence could ensue, with implications for the entire region.

Check out The China Report, our new weekly newsletter. Subscribe here!