It’s beyond dispute that the atrocities being committed in the Ethiopian war are not getting the global attention they deserve. But even where international attention exists, it is in danger of fading.

Established by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2021, the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia was tasked with investigating serious abuses in the country by all parties to the conflict since November 3, 2020. These include violations of international human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law.

But the Commission – the unfortunately abbreviated ICHREE – was only given a one-year mandate, and December is around the corner.

The ICHREE’s initial report, published last week, highlights both the severity of the human rights crisis in Ethiopia and the need for the work of the Commission to continue.

Grave violations against civilians continue both in northern Ethiopia and in other parts of the country, with no one held accountable. Fighting also erupted in late August in northern Ethiopia, renewing concerns about the impact of the fighting on civilians.

The Commission concluded that all parties to the conflict have committed war crimes, and that Ethiopian federal forces and allied regional state governments have committed crimes against humanity. This tracks with what we and other rights groups have documented throughout the nearly two-year conflict.

The Commission’s report also highlights the government’s denial and obstruction of humanitarian aid, calling these acts war crimes and crimes against humanity of persecution.

Such ongoing atrocities demand ongoing attention internationally. We’re urging the UN Human Rights Council to support the renewal of the Commission’s mandate, and ensure it has enough resources to fulfill its essential work.

Geography geeks know the Darién Gap as that curiously roadless connecting point of the Americas, a jungle on the Colombia-Panama border that has long defied transportation infrastructure.

For migrants heading northward, however, it is known as perhaps the most dangerous part of their journey. My colleagues recently went there to see conditions for themselves, and what they found is disturbing.

They saw hundreds of people, including children and pregnant women in need of medical assistance, along this treacherous route. After walking for days, many arrived in the indigenous community of Canaán Membrillo dehydrated, with serious sores and insect bites.

Many had been assaulted by gangs, who robbed and threatened them and, in dozens of cases, sexually abused them.

There were no government doctors to assist people when they arrived in Panama.

One small piece of good news: shortly after my colleagues met with government authorities in Panama City, including the deputy minister of health, the Health Ministry posted one doctor, one nurse, and one assistant in Canaán Membrillo.

But that’s not enough, clearly.

100,000 people crossed the Darién Gap between January and August – the highest figure ever recorded during these months. Most are those fleeing the human rights crisis in Venezuela, though there are also significant numbers of Cubans and Haitians.

They all deserve a safer way to seek protection abroad.

“It’s all happening again,” one person told me. “I can see it. It’s unfolding just like before.”

“A lot of people are having trouble sleeping again now,” said another.

Talking with people here in Sarajevo over the past couple days, I can see that the war in Ukraine is bringing back difficult memories for some Bosnians.

Sure, there are many things that seem quite different about the Bosnian war in the 1990s and the current war in Ukraine. The uninterrupted, daily attention to the latter by the governments of Europe would surely be one.

But for some people here in Bosnia, the horrific war crimes in Ukraine – the bombing of civilians, the torture and execution of prisoners, and the exhumation of bodies with hands tied – are reminders of their personal terrors from 30 years ago.

There have been other wars in the world with such crimes since the 1990s, of course, but not where the surrounding contexts seem so familiar to people here – in the faces, in the streets, in the architecture… Bosnia and Herzegovina after all used to be in the same country as large parts of Ukraine: they were both in the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1918.

The news from Ukraine is also a reminder that the flow of war crimes prosecutions in Bosnia’s courts has slowed to a trickle, and that political leaders show little interest in truth and reconciliation. With elections in Bosnia slated for Sunday, it’s hard to ignore that some convicted war criminals have gone to work in public office and have run for political positions since their release from custody.

And the failure of the international community to prevent mass atrocity crimes in Bosnia is something people in Sarajevo can’t forget.

“We said ‘never again,’ but there it is, all happening again.”

(curated today by Lisa Maier)

• Iran: Lawmaker labels female protesters as prostitutes – demonstrators continue to demand action (DW) 
• Authorities in Belarus tighten chokehold on civil society with arrests and harshened criminal charges (HRW) 
• Free Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja – Denmark should publicly push Bahrain for release (HRW) 
• Calculated homophobia in Serbia: President targets LGBTQI community as a distraction (Der Spiegel, English)

After a few days on a work retreat, I’m back in action and keen to hear from you. Please email me or contact me on Twitter with your thoughts and your suggestions for story ideas.

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