[19] The scale of the violence alarmed international observers, including the United Nations and the African Union, who urged the warring parties to return to peace negotiations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that "the situation in Ethiopia is spiraling out of control," and many other agencies, scholars and human rights organizations began to warn of a dramatic rise in hate speech against Tigrayans.

[26][27] Eventually, a new date for peace negotiations was set for 25 October, where talks would take place in Pretoria, at South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

[36] Hopes that these talks could definitively stop the war were noted as being low; fighting did not appear to slow down, even as peace discussions began,[37] and Eritrean forces, in particular, were reportedly still engaged in the killing of civilians for most of the negotiating period.

On 2 November 2022, the Ethiopian federal government and the TPLF released a joint statement,[41] in which they stated that they had "agreed to permanently silence the guns and end the two years of conflict in northern Ethiopia.

[4] It was agreed that this process must be monitored and observed by a "Joint Committee," with one representative each from the Ethiopian government, the TPLF and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), all while being presided over by the African Union through a "High-Level Panel.

"[4] On 7 November 2022, five days after the agreement was signed, Ethiopian and Tigrayan military officials – primarily, ENDF Chief of Staff Birhanu Jula and Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) Commander-in-Chief Tadesse Werede – met for a new set of talks in Nairobi, Kenya, in order to discuss restoring humanitarian access to the Tigray Region, as well as the process of Tigrayan disarmament.

"[52] In the immediate days after the signing of the Pretoria agreement, Tigrayan civilians,[53] international observers[54] and humanitarian organizations expressed a hope that aid would finally be made available in the region.

"[57][59] This statement was seemingly at odds with outside reports, and was deemed to be false by Tigrayan officials and local humanitarian workers, with Getachew Reda telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Redwan was "plucking his facts out of thin air.

"[60][61] On 12 November, military leaders from both parties announced in a joint statement that, as part of the Nairobi declaration, they had agreed to lift the restrictions on aid to those who needed it in Tigray and the surrounding regions; Obasanjo made assurances that humanitarian access would "begin with immediate effect.

[59] On 15 November, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that, for the first time since August, their delivery of medical supplies had reached the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle.

[66] The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia stated on 12 November that access to backing services had been restored in the Western Zone of Tigray (which was still under occupation by the Amhara Region), and was planning on doing the same in Mekelle.

[74][75] On 29 November, Ethiopian official Belete Molla stated that, while they planned to restore Tigray's access to the internet eventually, they did not have a set timeline on when this would occur.

[85][86][87] The Nairobi Declaration added a corollary to the Tigrayan armament clause, which stated that the disarming of heavy weapons "will be done concurrently with the withdrawal of foreign and non-ENDF forces in the region.

[88] According to eyewitnesses, aid workers and Tigrayan officials, both Eritrean and Amhara forces were responsible for killings, looting, kidnappings and mass detentions throughout November 2022, including in Shire, where disarmament talks were later held.

[46][47][95] Peace and conflict studies professor Kjetil Tronvoll argued the issue of disarmament would be "extremely controversial," thinking it unlikely that Tigrayan rebel forces would voluntarily disarm "in the face of an enemy they have been fighting for two years.

"[45] Benjamin Petrini of the International Institute for Strategic Studies questioned what security guarantees would be provided to the TPLF, saying they would not completely disarm for "vague promises.

They stated that entrusting all of Tigray's security to the ENDF made Tigrayans too vulnerable to possible violent attacks, particularly from the Eritrean military and Amhara regional forces.

[105][95][97] In a speech to parliament on 15 November 2022, Prime Minister Abiy said he was looking for a constitutional solution for this dispute, and that "unless the people of Wolkait [in Western Tigray] get the opportunity to self-determination, there won't be a lasting peace.

[110] Human Rights Watch noted that the documents do not make explicit mentions of ethnic cleansing in the Western Zone, and stated that it generally "lacks details on formal accountability.

"[111] The government-established Ethiopian Human Rights Commission issued a statement saying that, for peace to be sustainably achieved, the implementation of the agreement "should be preceded and informed by a nation-wide, genuine, consultative, inclusive, and victim-centred conversation.

"[54] Filsan Abdi, a former member of Prime Minister Abiy's cabinet, said in an interview with PBS NewHour that reaching an agreement to end the war, while necessary, should not mean they "forgo seeking justice and accountability" for victims of human rights violations, and especially in cases of sexual violence against women and girls.

[112] Filsan resigned from her position as Minister of Women, Children and Youth in September 2021, in response to what she considered to be willful obstruction by the government in regards to publishing reports on sexual violence committed during the war.