Safeguarding The Right To Movement

In its latest monitoring between April and September 2025, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) sounded an alarm: widespread road closures, abductions, curfews, and checkpoints are choking off freedom of movement across several of Ethiopia’s regions, namely Amhara, Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Gambella. What may seem like temporary security measures are, in reality, becoming structural barriers—fracturing daily life, curbing economic activity, and threatening human rights in ways that demand urgent redress. The crisis is characterized by a dangerous convergence of actions by armed groups and government forces, creating a perfect storm of insecurity.

The EHRC’s findings are stark. Key roads that connect people in remote or vulnerable zones to markets, hospitals, schools, and relatives remain impassable due to threats from armed groups. And while there are occasional security escorts, they are unreliable and insufficient to offset the far wider human cost.  Along those roads, abductions have become tragically common. Passengers are taken, sometimes shot if they attempt escape, held for ransom in sums unspeakably high, and in one case, Red Cross workers were abducted during ambulance duty, one of them tragically dying. Prolonged curfews and indefinite road closures, imposed by both state and non-state actors, compound the suffering. Needless to say it’s defenseless civilians who pay the heaviest price.

These restrictions do not only limit mobility; they undermine people’s rights, dignity, and livelihoods. When citizens cannot practically travel to access basic services, education plunges, health care delayed becomes health care denied, food supply chains are disrupted; jobs become uncertain; and economic opportunities vanish. Markets cannot function if roads are blocked. The right to movement is enshrined in Ethiopia’s Constitution and in treaties the country has ratified. But rights are hollow when daily reality makes them a gamble. The psychological toll of the restriction is profound as well. The constant fear of abduction, sudden closures, or being caught in a nighttime curfew breeds insecurity at the household level. Communities become isolated. Trust in state institutions erodes when people cannot differentiate between protective actions and oppressive ones. Responsibility is diffuse because some of the entities imposing checkpoints and closures are official security forces while others are non-state armed groups, which makes accountability harder. It’s incumbent on all sides to cease acts that endanger civilians, and for security measures to be guided by the principles of necessity and proportionality.

Resolving this complex crisis requires a dual-track approach that combines prompt, effective security measures with long-term structural solutions. So what must be done to correct course? First and foremost, it’s paramount to undertake immediate review and reversal where possible of road closures and long-standing curfews. The government should audit all existing restrictions: are they truly necessary for security? If they are imposed, are they time-bound, clearly communicated, and periodically reassessed? Blanket or indefinite curfews are rarely defensible; measures must be strictly proportionate. The audit must be complemented by measures intended to guarantee better security on vulnerable roads—not just military patrols, but reliable, community-trusted protection. If people can travel safely without fear of abduction or attack, commerce, schooling, health care access, and social connections can return to normal. Escorting people should be a last resort, not an excuse for leaving roads closed.

Ensuring transparency and accountability are of further importance. The EHRC’s report calls for full investigations into abductions, killings, ransom demands, and violence on roads. Perpetrators—whether from non-state armed groups or official forces—must be held accountable. Families of victims deserve justice; public trust demands it. Publishers, civil society, media organizations must be allowed to monitor and publicize such cases without harassment.

In the long-term, where conflict or insecurity is the cause, the solutions lie in peace building, conflict resolution, and inclusive political dialogue. Security measures should go hand in hand with reconciliation, mediation, and transitional justice where needed. The EHRC emphasizes that human rights cannot be sacrificed in the name of security; they are foundational to legitimate and sustainable peace. Reinforcing legislative and judicial safeguards also play a vital role in addressing the root causes of the problem. Laws around curfews, checkpoints, and travel restrictions should explicitly require oversight, clarity of mandate, legality, and the possibility for judicial review. Furthermore, independent monitoring bodies like EHRC need legal backing and protection so they can do their work without fear.

If these steps are taken, freedom of movement can once again become more than a promise. Ethiopia has suffered enough disruptions to its social fabric. Citizens caught in closed roads, midnight curfews, and doomed to pay ransoms for basic travel deserve better. The integrity of national stability depends not on sealing regions off but on opening dialogue, restoring trust, and ensuring that security policies protect rather than punish the citizenry. All stakeholders must act—with urgency, clarity, and justice—lest the very foundations of its society erode under the weight of fear and restriction.