Here is the full press release from the party
Statement of Condemnation: UNOCHA’s Use of Unlawful Map Misrepresenting Western Tigray
Salsay Weyane Tigray (SaWaT) issues this statement to strongly condemn the recent publication by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) of a misleading and unlawful map that depicts Western Tigray as part of the Amhara region. This action is not only factually inaccurate but also severely undermines ongoing efforts toward peace, justice, and constitutional stability in Ethiopia.
Western Tigray has been the subject of forceful occupation and ethnic cleansing since the outbreak of the genocidal war in November 2020. The Ethiopian Constitution clearly defines Western Tigray as an integral and inalienable part of the Tigray Regional State. No legal or democratic process has ever altered or redefined this established constitutional status. By publishing a map that reflects expansionist claims, UNOCHA is effectively legitimizing territorial aggression and, regrettably, appears to be endorsing the ethnic cleansing and demographic change that has occurred in the region.
As a humanitarian agency committed to the principles of neutrality and human rights, UNOCHA bears a grave responsibility to avoid actions that could exacerbate conflict or legitimize human rights violations. The use of this distorted map not only ignores the profound suffering of millions of displaced Tigrayans, many of whom were forcibly transferred from their ancestral lands in Western Tigray, but it also fundamentally violates UN impartiality standards. Such an action risks critically damaging the credibility and effectiveness of humanitarian operations in Tigray.
We therefore urge UNOCHA to immediately retract and correct the map in question. Furthermore, we call upon UNOCHA to issue a prompt and unequivocal apology to the victims of the ethnic cleansing and the people of Tigray at large, acknowledging the harm caused by this egregious misrepresentation.
Salsay Weyane Tigray
June 9, 2025
Me’qelle, Tigray
The OCHA used this map in its 2024 annual report on the Humanitarian Fund in Ethiopia.
