According to the U.S. Department of State's human rights report for 2022, there exists "significant human rights issues" in Ethiopia. In addition to extrajudicial killings and instances of "enforced disappearance", other human right issues in Ethiopia include arbitrary arrest, the censorship and unjustified arrests of journalists, the use of child soldiers, and more.
Reports of human rights violations within the country have been levied at the federal government of Ethiopia, and by various militant groups and regional militias; including the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
History
During Emperor Haile Selassie's reign, laws began to be systematically codified, allowing for the enactment of Ethiopia's first two constitutions: the Constitution of 1931 and the Revised Constitution of the Empire of Ethiopia of 1955, as well as six Codes that remain fundamental to Ethiopia's laws today. However, both the 1931 Constitution and the 1955 Constitution systematized the power of the Emperor, leaving out what rights and freedoms his subjects should possess.
After overthrowing Selassie in 1974, Major Mengistu Haile Marium established a military dictatorship that subjected its political opponents to "arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial execution." Five years later, Mengistu began the Derg's planned transition to a civil government, forming a Commission for the Establishment of the Worker's Party in 1979 and declaring a socialist republic, led by the Workers Party of Ethiopia, in 1984. In 1987, the Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE Constitution) formally dissolved the Derg and inaugurated the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE), a Marxist–Leninist one-party state that was dominated by the military and former Derg members. The PDRE Constitution outlined basic rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, press, and assembly; freedom of conscience and religion; and the rights of the accused and arrested. Due to the PDRE's socialist ideology, the PDRE Constitution emphasized socioeconomic and cultural rights, such as the right to free education; the right to healthcare; and the freedom to participate in science, technology, and the arts. However, the same rights established in the PDRE Constitution were violated by Mengistu's military state.
Mengistu's authoritarian military regime faced organized opposition for all of its fourteen years of rule. Opposition groups including the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), a rival Marxist–Leninist group, and the Tigray-based Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, a coalition of ethnic democratic forces, led armed resistance to the Derg in a conflict known as the Ethiopian Civil War. The Derg used violence, commonly enacted through military campaigns, to suppress dissidents. In 1976, the Derg instigated the Qey Shibir (Ethiopian Red Terror), a violent political repression campaign targeting the EPRP. Under Mengistu's leadership, the Derg did not only rely on state personnel to carry out the Qey Shibir; it also armed militias and civilian supporters and granted "genuine revolutionaries and patriots" impunity, further localizing state violence. The Qey Shibir resulted in approximately 980 000 fatalities. In addition, many victims of the Qey Shibir were subjected to torture, exile, and sexual assault. The Qey Shibir and the 1983-1985 famine, an event partly created and exacerbated by the government's military policies, increased popular support for the EPRDF, which successfully overthrew Mengistu's regime in 1991.
The EPRDF took power in 1991 with the promise of a transitional program that would rehabilitate those negatively impacted by the previous regime, promote democracy, and recognize and protect human and minority group rights. The Transitional Period Charter, which was adopted during the post-war conference in 1991, officially established a transitional government. Drawing from the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1 of the Charter guaranteed basic rights and civil liberties, specifically freedom of expression, association, and assembly; freedom of conscience; and the right to "unrestricted" political participation and party organization, "provided the exercise of such right does not infringe upon the rights of others." The Charter also addressed the state of interethnic relations in Ethiopia. Article 17 of the Charter stated that the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) would work to de-escalate ethnic conflict as it led the country toward a full democracy. Article 2 proclaimed the rights of ethnic groups in Ethiopia, which are officially referred to as nations or nationalities. Among the rights granted to all Ethiopian "nations, nationalities, and peoples" was the right to self-determination, including the right to secede.
In 1994, the EPRDF adopted the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, which came into effect following the 1995 general election. Following the blueprint laid out by the Transitional Period Charter, the 1995 Constitution established an ethnic federal system. Like the Charter, the 1995 Constitution draws from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights while also establishing protections of group rights. Articles 14 through 44 of the 1995 Constitution codify "fundamental rights and freedoms," with Articles 14 through 28 pertaining to "human rights" and articles 29 through 44 establishing "democratic rights."
In April 2018, Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister and promised multiple reforms in terms of human rights. In 2018, his government freed thousands of political prisoners, lifted the state of emergency, ended the Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict, selected a new cabinet among which half the ministers were women, and appointed a woman judge, Birtukan Mideksa, as the head of the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).
Anti-Terrorism Proclamation
Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Proclamation was introduced in 2009.Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa: Ethiopia AI 27 October 2011 The broad provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation allow the authorities to criminalize the exercise of freedom of expression.Ethiopia: Swedish journalists must be released immediately and unconditionally Amnesty International 21 December 2011 Amnesty International believes that at least 108 journalists and opposition members were arrested in 2011 primarily because of their legitimate and peaceful criticism of the government. The sheer numbers involved in this wave of arrests represents the most far-reaching crackdown on freedom of expression seen in many years in Ethiopia. Dismantling Dissent: Intensified crackdown on free speech in Ethiopia 16 December 2011
From March 2011 to December 2011 at least 108 opposition party members and six journalists were arrested in Ethiopia for alleged involvement with various proscribed terrorist groups. The detainees had been charged with crimes under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the Criminal Code. Many arrests in 2011 came in the days immediately after individuals publicly criticized the government, were involved in public calls for reform, applied for permission to hold demonstrations, or attempted to conduct investigative journalism in a region of Ethiopia to which the government severely restricts access.
Amnesty International believes the individuals will not receive a fair trial and will be convicted for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Many of the detainees complained that they experienced torture and were forced to sign confessions or incriminating evidence. Almost all were denied access to lawyers and family at the start of detention.Amnesty International report on growing repression in Ethiopia Amnesty International 15 December 2011
The trials have become deeply politicized owing to the interest of senior government officials including the Prime Minister who declared in the national parliament that all the defendants are guilty. The Prime Minister has publicly threatened to carry out further arrests. In the first week of December 135 people were reported to be arrested in Oromia. Amnesty International calls on the United Nations, European Union, African Union, and governments to: Conduct systematic monitoring of the ongoing terrorism trials and the trials of members of the Oromo people political opposition arrested during 2011 and make findings public.
Political freedom Two journalists and four opposition politicians of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, and the Ethiopian National Democratic party, were arrested on 14 September and on 9 September 2011. They were accused of involvement with the Ginbot 7 group, a banned political party.Amnesty action letter Ethiopia 19 September 2011
Elections According to Amnesty International citizens were pressured to leave opposition parties in May 2010 elections. Voters in Addis Ababa were reportedly threatened with the withdrawal of state assistance if they did not vote for the EPRDF. There was political violence: One candidate and several activists were killed. Registration as candidates was reportedly prevented by armed forces. Opposition parties said that their members were harassed, beaten, and detained by the EPRDF in the build-up to the elections. Hundreds of people were allegedly arrested arbitrarily in the Oromia region, often on the grounds of supporting the (OLF), an armed group. Detention without trial, torture and killings of Oromos were reported.
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) consolidated political control with 99.6 percent victory in the May 2010 parliamentary elections. According to Human Rights Watch the polls were preceded by months of intimidation of opposition party supporters. According to European election observers, the election fell short of international standards. The government had a five-year strategy to systematically close down space for political dissent and independent criticism.Human Rights Watch World Report 2011 page 121
Freedom of the press
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 of the freedom of expression states: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
1991–2018: EPRDF According to Reporters Without Borders Ethiopia was 139 out of 178 in its latest worldwide index in January 2012.Ethiopia Reporters Without Borders January 2012 Freedom House stated in 2007 that citizens had little access to media other than the state-owned networks, and most private newspapers struggled to remain open and suffered periodic harassment from the government.
Government censorship, harassment and arrest of bloggers and journalists severely restricts freedom of the press in Ethiopia: Between 2005 and 2007, at least 18 journalists who had written articles critical of the government, were arrested on genocide and treason charges. The government used press laws governing libel to intimidate journalists who were critical of its policies. Authorities used concerns over insurgency and terrorism to use torture, imprisonment, and other repressive methods to silence critics following the election, particularly people sympathetic to the registered opposition party Oromo National Congress (ONC). In December 2009, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson were convicted for "rendering support to terrorism" and entering the country illegally "to commit an act that is a threat to the well-being of the people of Ethiopia." Status:Pardoned In 2011, Hellman-Hammett Award winner Woubshet Taye Abebe was arrested. He was charged under the anti-terrorism law. Before his arrest, he was the deputy editor of the Awramba Times. Status: In prison