U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman told the Ethiopian ambassador Monday that the U.S. is losing patience over concerns about human rights abuses in the African nation.

Last week an Ethiopian delegation from Colorado was among those who met with the staff of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a meeting arranged by Coffman. McCarthy is offering to avert H.R. 128, which would formally condemn Ethiopian abuses and demand a United Nations investigation into the state of human rights there. The Ethiopian government objects to the legislation.

Coffman and McCarthy want Ethiopian leaders to grant full access to observers from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights by Feb. 28. If that voluntary review doesn’t happen, Congress will take up the bill that presses the issue. Coffman is a co-sponsor of H.R. 128.

He’s been pressing the case for a while, at the request of the large African immigrant community in his congressional district in east metro Denver.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters have been killed since November 2015 when protests began in the Oromo region of Ethiopia. The current regime has blamed the violence on ethnic clashes between the Oromo and Somali communities, downplaying the government’s role and use of force.

Coffman’s office said he told Ambassador Kassa Tekleberhan Monday that he wants cooperation on the House majority leader’s offer, or H.R. 128 will proceed “irrespective of retaliatory threats by the Ethiopian government.”

Coffman said in a statement that the legislation calls on Ethiopian leaders “to take clear and decisive steps toward becoming a more inclusive, more democratic government – one that respects the human rights of all their citizens.

“Today’s meeting set clear milestones for the Ethiopian government to achieve in order to prove they are serious about respecting the human rights of their citizens.”

Coffman’s office provided a statement from Jamal Said, president of the Oromo Community of Denver:

“We are happy with the agreement we reached,” he said of the negotiations with McCarthy’s office. “We appreciate honorable Congressman Mike Coffman, Chris Smith and the office of the majority leader for their leaderships and sending signals to the Ethiopian government the human rights of people of Ethiopia should be respected, honored and respected.”

Yoseph Tafari, chairman of the Ethiopian American Civic Council in Colorado, thanked Coffman and McCarthy, as well.

“The Ethiopian people have been waiting 25 years to be heard, and today, because of these two congressmen, the people of Ethiopia have a chance to fight back against a corrupt and oppressive government,” he said.

(Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a comment from Tafari.)