Ethiopia Human Rights
Human Rights Concerns
In November of 2005, Ethiopian police killed 6 and wounded as many as 24 civilians in a march protesting the recently released election results. There have been numerous reports of government opponents being taken from their homes in the aftermath of this incident. There have also been reports of widespread arbitrary detention, torture, "disappearances", harsh prison conditions, and use of excessive force by police and soldiers against anyone suspected of supporting the armed opposition groups. No one responsible for a 2003 killing that left 63 Anuak people dead (witnesses and unofficial estimates put the number at several hundred) has been brought to justice.
On November 7th, 2005, police brought to court 24 opposition leaders and others who were arrested in Addis Ababa on 1 November following street demonstrations that erupted into four days of violence when police started shooting. At least 46 protesters were killed in Addis Ababa and other towns, and at least 4,000 were arrested. The detainees include Hailu Shawel, aged 70, president of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy party; Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, 75, former chair of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council; Dr Yacob Hailemariam, a former UN Special Envoy and former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; Ms Birtukan Mideksa, CUD vice-president and a former judge; and Dr Berhanu Negga, the recently elected Mayor of Addis Ababa and university professor of economics.
The court ordered them to be detained for a further 14 days (with the next hearing set for November 21st) for police investigations into suspected violent conspiracy, although no one yet has been formally charged with any offense. The 24, who had been kept incommunicado, are said to be held at the police Central Investigation Bureau (known as Maikelawi) in Addis Ababa. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that these detainees are likely to be charged with treason, which carries a possible death penalty.
Food scarcity continues to affect as many as 7 million people in Ethiopia. A government plan that aims to resettle 2.2 million people has been remiss in its duties to provide humane conditions at the resettlement camps– malnutrition, high child mortality, and poor health facilities remain a problem.
Forced early marriage of girls and female genital mutilation are still common, though AI salutes the women's groups that have begun to convene to address these things.
Relevant Links
Ethiopia Newsroom
February 25, 2021 • Report
Eritrean Troops’ Massacre of Hundreds of Axum Civilians May Amount to Crime Against Humanity
Eritrean troops fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray state systematically killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the northern city of Axum on November 28-29, 2020, opening fire in the streets and conducting house-to-house raids in a massacre that may amount to a crime against humanity, Amnesty International said today in a new report.
December 16, 2020 • Press Release
Governments and Police Must Stop Using COVID-19 Pandemic as Pretext for Abuse
Abusive policing and excessive reliance on law enforcement to implement COVID-19 response measures have violated human rights and in some instances made the health crisis worse, Amnesty International said today.
December 7, 2020 • Press Release
Amnesty International USA Hosts Human Rights Day Briefing on the Crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region
In advance of Human Rights Day, Amnesty International will host a virtual briefing on the human rights challenges expected in 2021. The briefing will focus on the human rights crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Hundreds in the Tigray region have lost their lives, many more have been injured, and tens of thousands of people have been forced into refugee camps in neighboring Sudan.
April 7, 2020 • Press Release
Armed conflicts and state repression in Africa fuel cocktail of human rights violations
HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: Protesters across sub-Saharan Africa have braved bullets and beatings to defend their rights in the face of continuing conflict and state repression, Amnesty International said today …
January 3, 2018 • Press Release
Ethiopia: Closure of “torture chamber” could signal new chapter for human rights
Responding to an announcement by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn that all political prisoners will be released and a notorious detention centre closed, Fisseha Tekle, Ethiopia Researcher at Amnesty International, said:
November 9, 2016 • Press Release
Ethiopia: After a year of protests, time to address grave human rights concerns
Nearly one year on from the start of a wave of protests that has left at least 800 people dead at the hands of security forces, the Ethiopian government must take concrete steps to address grave human rights concerns in the country, Amnesty International said today.
October 5, 2016 • Press Release
Ethiopia: Renewed protests underline need to investigate after dozens killed in stampede
Fresh protests in Ethiopia since dozens of protesters were killed in a stampede at a religious festival on 2 October underline the need for the Ethiopian government to ensure a …
September 13, 2016 • Press Release
Coalition of NGO and Diaspora Groups Support Ethiopia Human Rights Resolution
The undersigned civil society organizations applaud U.S. Representatives Chris Smith, Keith Ellison and Mike Coffman for introducing House Resolution 861, entitled “Supporting human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia.”
August 8, 2016 • Press Release
Dozens killed as police use excessive force against peaceful protesters in Ethiopia
At least 97 people were killed and hundreds more injured when Ethiopian security forces fired live bullets at peaceful protesters across Oromia region over the weekend, according to credible sources who spoke to Amnesty International.
June 30, 2016 • Press Release
Allow Ethiopian opposition politician to obtain treatment abroad for torture-sustained injuries
The Ethiopian authorities must allow an opposition politician who is now unconscious due to injuries sustained in torture and other ill-treatment to obtain life-saving medical treatment abroad, said Amnesty International in a letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
