Human rights in Ethiopia

Human rights in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has joined the UN Human Rights Council. Laetitia Bader hopes that people will now see the problems with human rights there.

On 1 January 2013, Ethiopia joined the United Nations Human Rights Council. Usually countries are chosen to join this council, but Africa simply selected five countries for their five places. Many people are surprised that Ethiopia is on the council because they have a bad record of human rights. Countries that are chosen to be members have to “have the highest standards in promoting and protecting human rights". But in Ethiopia, there are hundreds of political prisoners, torture is common and the government is now controlling media and civil society.

Eskinder Nega writes blogs about what happens to people who dare to speak out. He was arrested and jailed after the 2005 elections. After his release from prison in 2007, he was carefully controlled and he was not allowed to publish any writing. Then, in 2011, he was arrested again. He had an unfair trial under Ethiopia’s terrorism law, and he was sent to prison for 18 years.

Since the 2005 elections, the human rights situation in Ethiopia has got much worse: the government does not allow peaceful protests; people who speak against the government (opposition leaders, activists and journalists) have been put in prison, or have been forced to leave the country. Also, government development plans, including large agricultural developments, have forced many people to move from their traditional lands, with little discussion or compensation, to villages without basic services.

The government has passed many laws attacking the media and civil society. One new law, called the Charities and Societies Proclamation has made independent human rights work in Ethiopia almost impossible. The government has stopped the money of the last two groups in the country – the most important women’s rights organization, the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) – which has given free legal aid to over 17,000 women – and the Human Rights Council (HRCO).

Ethiopia’s military have been involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Somali and Gambella regions. But Ethiopia has not been criticised nationally or internationally. And they are still getting international money even when they do wrong to democratic institutions or minority populations. Ethiopia’s friends and partners in the region should use the three years on the Council to tell everyone about the human rights problems there. They should to tell the Ethiopian government to release all political prisoners, stop unlawful restrictions on civil society and the media, and stop preventing visits from UN human rights experts.

As this article has been simplified, the words, text structure and quotes may have been changed. For the original, please see: http://www.newint.org/sections/agenda/2013/01/01/civil-society-crackdown-in-ethiopia/