On February 1st, 2022, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, appealed to all parties in Ethiopia to end the conflict in the Tigray region and honour the Olympic Truce. The Olympic Truce urges armed conflicts to cease from January 28th to March 20th, 2022: this is the period during which the games are being held in Beijing. This tradition dates back almost 3000 years, with the truce starting seven days before the Olympic games and lasting until seven days after the end of the Paralympics. The ceasefire would allow Ethiopians to receive well-needed humanitarian assistance. Guterres is hoping that national dialogue will result in peace for all Ethiopians. “The United Nations stands ready to support an all-inclusive and nationally owned dialogue, peace, security, and reconciliation process in Ethiopia…,” Guterres stated to New York journalists.

Currently, the UN estimates that approximately 90% of the Tigrayan population, more than 9 million people, require humanitarian assistance. Almost 40% of Tigrayans suffer from malnourishment due to a severe lack of food. A shortage of fuel has created an inability to pump clean water, leaving individuals vulnerable to disease as they drink from unsanitary streams. The UN World Food Programme has had limited access to Northern Ethiopia due to conflict and hostilities at the border.

The Tigray conflict started in 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed removed Tigrayan government officials over allegations of corruption and repression. This action resulted in a suspension of funding to Tigray, seen as a declaration of war. Thousands of Tigray residents have been forced to flee and seek shelter in transit centres close to Sudan, with over half of these immigrants being lone children. Over the past couple of months, killing, looting, and damage to infrastructure has caused humanitarian needs to surge. Aid convoys have not been able to reach the capital since December 14th, 2021.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that supply trucks carrying food and medical equipment are coming to a halt. When the UN delivered trucks to Tigray, apprehension was raised when approximately 900 trucks had not returned. Ethiopian officials fear that rebels have been using these trucks for personal gain. Finding other routes into Tigray has been challenging as pro-government forces in the neighbouring Amhara location have been denied access. Both the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been deemed as preventing and confiscating aid supplies.

It is not the first time Guterres has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia. The Secretary-General released a termination of war statement on January 10th, 2022. The announcements follow several recent airstrikes in Tigray, which have killed at least 108 civilians, and injured 75 more, since the beginning of the year. The most significant casualties occurred on January 7th, 2022, when an airstrike on Dedebit killed at least 59 people. This refugee camp held children, women, and older men who were sleeping in an empty school when a drone attacked at night. Aid workers conveyed that the internally displaced people were not fighters; they were civilians fleeing war. The possibility of a ceasefire seems to recede more into the realm of the improbable, despite urges from the international community. Hopefully, the sanctity of the Olympic Truce can inspire regional leaders to halt hostilities long enough for essential aid to make its way to civilians.