Landmark New Lines Report on Tigray Genocide Launched in Tigrinya 

New Lines Institute report on atrocities in Tigray reaches local audiences through public accountability workshop and Tigrinya translation 

June 20, 2026 — The findings of New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy’s landmark report, Genocide in Tigray: Serious Breaches of International Law in the Tigray Conflict, Ethiopia, and Paths to Accountability, were examined last week in a public discussion workshop convened in Aksum, Ethiopia. The workshop brought together academics, legal experts, civil society representatives, religious leaders, and human rights practitioners to examine and explore pathways toward justice and accountability for victims of the conflict. 

Organized by the Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide (CITG) with support from New Lines Institute, the event marked the launch and discussion of the report’s Tigrinya translation, expanding access to the report’s findings among communities directly affected by the conflict. 

“[The story of Tigray] is a warning about the present and the future. It demonstrates how dehumanization, exclusion, and impunity can escalate into mass atrocities when warning signs are ignored. It also reminds us that prevention and accountability are inseparable. Without accountability, the conditions that enable future atrocities remain intact.” — Susanna Kelley, Program Head and Analyst, Mass Atrocities and International Law portfolio at New Lines Institute, in opening remarks delivered to workshop participants. 

Kelley emphasized that translating the report into Tigrinya is an important step in making its findings accessible to those most affected by the conflict. 

Released in June 2024, the report draws on survivor testimony, open-source evidence, legal analysis, and extensive documentation to assess allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic persecution committed against Tigrayans. 

The report concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that genocide had been committed against Tigrayans under established international legal standards, including the 1948 Genocide Convention, customary international law, and international criminal jurisprudence. 

The report found reasonable grounds to believe that multiple atrocity crimes were committed during the conflict, including: 

• Genocide against Tigrayans. 

• Crimes against humanity committed on a widespread and systematic scale, including murder, extermination, persecution, deportation and forcible transfer, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts. 

• War crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law, including the intentional targeting of civilians, attacks on civilian objects, starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, obstruction of humanitarian assistance, destruction of protected infrastructure, and widespread acts of sexual violence. 

Workshop discussions focused on the continuing importance of documentation, evidence preservation, survivor-centered justice, and accountability efforts. Participants repeatedly emphasized that meaningful accountability remains absent despite extensive documentation of atrocities and stressed that justice is essential for victims, sustainable peace, and the prevention of future violence. It also featured presentations on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) during the war in Tigray and the ongoing efforts of the Commission of Inquiry on Tigray Genocide to document violations and preserve evidence. 

The event was covered by regional media outlets, including Tigray Television and Dimtsi Weyane Television. 

Read the full report here. 

Read the translated report here. 

To learn more about New Lines Institute’s work on mass atrocities, international law, and accountability, visit our website. 

For media inquiries, contact the New Lines Communications Team: [email protected] 

About New Lines

New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy is a global think tank based in Washington, D.C., working to enhance U.S. foreign policy based on a deep understanding of the geopolitics of the different regions of the world and their value systems. Funding for New Lines is provided by the Washington Institute for Education and Research, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in Washington, D.C.