The Pretoria Agreement — formally titled the Agreement for Lasting Peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities — was signed on 2 November 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa, between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). It ended the active phase of the Tigray War, a conflict that had raged since November 2020 and produced one of the deadliest humanitarian crises of the early 2020s, with mass civilian casualties, famine conditions, and widespread reports of atrocities by multiple parties including Eritrean forces.
The talks were convened under the auspices of the African Union, with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo serving as AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, alongside former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as mediators. The lead signatories were Redwan Hussein for the Ethiopian government and Getachew Reda for the TPLF.
Core provisions included:
- A permanent cessation of hostilities with immediate effect.
- Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of TPLF combatants, with heavy weapons to be handed over concurrently with the withdrawal of foreign and non-federal forces from Tigray.
- Restoration of federal authority in Tigray, including reopening of roads, communications, banking, and basic services.
- Unhindered humanitarian access to the region.
- A framework for transitional justice and accountability.
A follow-up implementation declaration was signed in Nairobi on 12 November 2022, detailing sequencing of disarmament and humanitarian corridors.
Implementation has been partial. While large-scale fighting between federal forces and the TPLF ceased and an interim regional administration for Tigray was established in March 2023, concerns persist over the continued presence of Eritrean troops and Amhara Fano militias in contested areas, the status of Western Tigray, the return of internally displaced persons, and the pace of transitional justice. The agreement is frequently cited as a rare case of an African-led peace process producing a battlefield-ending settlement.
Example
In November 2022, Redwan Hussein and Getachew Reda signed the Pretoria Agreement under AU mediation, halting two years of war between Addis Ababa and Tigrayan forces.
Frequently asked questions
Redwan Hussein, National Security Adviser to Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, signed for the federal government, and Getachew Reda signed for the TPLF, on 2 November 2022.
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