Conflicts, impartiality handicap transitional justice, national dialogue initiatives
A report detailing the human rights situation in Ethiopia through the entirety of the just-ended fiscal year was published this week by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
In a surprising departure from protocol, Commissioner Berhanu Adelo, who replaced Daniel Bekele (PhD) this year, disclosed EHRC was not called to present its annual report to Parliament this time around.
Nonetheless, the report highlights ongoing rights violations, arbitrary detentions, and human rights abuses in several parts of the country.
The Commission reports that although martial law decrees in parts of the country were lifted last year, abuses under the pretext of military rule remain rampant in the Amhara, Oromia, Central, and Southern regional states and other locales where security issues persist.
Officials and security forces detain citizens arbitrarily, using “command post” law as cover, according to the report.
Several people detained under this pretext have been incarcerated for months at a time in informal prisons, military camps, and police stations while being denied the right to appear before a court of law, according to the report.
It also mentions that prisoners are routinely transferred from one location to another.
In addition to arbitrary detentions, ordinary citizens in these regions are subject to kidnappings by armed groups and criminals, who demand hefty ransom fees to secure their release, the report observes.
The Commission found that while the treatment of detainees in prisons in Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Sidama has improved, the situation elsewhere is worrying.
During visits to prisons and detention centers across the country, EHRC officers found that prisoners were not being provided with food, while beatings and other serious rights abuses were common.
Regarding civic rights, the report asserts the recently amended CSO proclamation casts a shadow on the upcoming national election. It criticizes the legislation for shrinking CSO freedoms and rights at a time when they are most needed to ensure a transparent and fair election.
The Commission reports it received 1,258 appeals and complaints from individuals and groups during the year, of which 416 are from Addis Ababa. More than half of the complaints concerned breaches of political and civic rights, according to the report.
It states that armed conflicts, clashes, instability, and natural disasters are damaging infrastructure, limiting mobility, reducing economic production, and fueling inflation. Close to eight million students are unable to attend school, according to the report. In the Amhara region alone, more than 3,700 schools remain inactive due to conflict.
The Commission also sheds light on the toll disease is taking on various parts of the country. Between January and May 2025 alone, Ethiopia recorded nearly two million malaria cases, 4,000 cholera cases, and 3,900 measles cases, according to the report.
Illness claimed the lives of at least 141 people during that period.
The 152-page report lists countless cases in which citizens are arbitrarily killed by government security forces, as well as armed forces like Fano in Amhara and OLF-Shene in Oromia.
In Tigray, the failure to fully implement the Pretoria agreement and the revocation of TPLF’s party license has resulted in renewed tensions, human rights abuses, and exacerbated fears of renewed conflict, according to the report.
The Commission states that civilians have repeatedly been killed during clashes between government forces and armed groups in Amhara and Oromia. Civilians are often accused of supporting the other side by both Fano and government forces, with the accusations often ending in murder, according to the report.
Similar scenarios have occurred in Oromia, where civilians are killed by government forces or OLF-Shene on suspicion of aiding the other side.
The report states the government has opposed the Commission’s attempts to visit detention and prison facilities in the Amhara region. Its officers managed to visit just five facilities in the region during the reporting period.
The report iterates the national dialogue and transitional justice initiatives are the best hope for ending conflict and human rights violations in Ethiopia. However, it warns these initiatives have been undercut by glaring problems from the outset.
The report highlights incidents during national dialogue discussions in the Amhara region, where participants who were openly raising issues pertaining to the conflict in the region found themselves being recorded by cameras held by unidentified individuals wearing ‘media’ badges.
As a result, participants, some of whom are members of an armed group, are forced to cover their faces during the dialogue sessions out of fear of retribution from the government, which they believe is more likely to retaliate than take their ideas as input for the dialogue.
The report calls for the National Dialogue Commission to prohibit video recordings without participant consent.
It also notes that political parties are raising concerns over the partiality of the dialogue, with some pulling out from the initiative in protest. The EHRC notes the exclusion of armed forces in Amhara and Oromia as another concern, and cautions that civilians in conflict areas are unable to take part in the dialogue.
The report states that although the Ministry of Justice had laid the legal groundwork for the transitional justice process and pledged to begin work in 2024/25, its officials have not lived up to their promises. The report also critiques the legal framework for not being available for public discourse.
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