Letter to Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs - Merkley Sounds Alarm on Human Rights Concerns in Ethiopia

Letter

Dear Ambassador Phee,

I write to you regarding the human rights and humanitarian situation throughout Ethiopia. I thank you for the work of your Bureau to address the situation in northern Ethiopia since the start of the conflict in Tigray in November 2020, and the continued calls of the State Department for the Ethiopian government to take steps towards achieving sustainable peace.[1] I fully support efforts by the State Department to bring an end to the conflict in northern Ethiopia, and continue to urge the Government of Ethiopia to allow unfettered humanitarian access and restore essential services to Tigray.

At the same time, I believe that in order to achieve lasting peace throughout Ethiopia, close attention must also be given to the conflicts and human rights abuses occurring in other regions and against a wide variety of ethnic groups. This includes the plight of members of the Oromo community, the country's largest ethnic group, some of whom are currently facing a dire human rights and humanitarian situation due to ongoing fighting between the government and the rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).

Oromo youth (Qeeroo) played a pivotal role in the protest movement that spurred Prime Minister Abiy's rise to power in 2018,[2] and the Oromo community, much like the U.S. government, initially had high hopes that his government would protect human rights. Unfortunately, soon after taking office, the Abiy government began committing human rights abuses against Oromo civilians.[3] In June 2020, six months prior to the start of the war in Tigray, Hacahlu Hundessa, an Oromo activist and singer, was assassinated in Addis Ababa. During the protests that followed his death, more than 3,500 people were arrested, including peaceful protesters and Oromo politicians.[4] Within a month, the number of arrests reached 9,000, and there were widespread reports of prisoners experiencing due process violations.[5]

Since that time, the situation for Oromo civilians throughout Ethiopia has only continued to deteriorate. There have been communications blackouts in Oromia, and numerous reports of Amhara militias (Fano)[6] and Ethiopian security forces attacking civilians.[7] Human Rights Watch, among others, have documented extrajudicial executions, often in relation to victims' purported ties to the OLA, which itself has been implicated in killings of civilians.

For example, in December 2021, Oromia state security forces killed a group of Oromo elders. During the November 2021 state of emergency, Some Oromo civilians were, like Tigrayans, also targeted for arrests on the basis of their ethnicity.[8] In April of this year, the Ethiopian government and the Oromia regional government announced a new military campaign inside Oromia in order to combat the OLA.[9] There have been reports of government forces targeting Oromo civilians, including through the use of drones, in those operations.[10] This violence has led to an increasingly untenable situation for residents of conflict-affected parts of Oromia, with more than 500,000 individuals reported as having been recently displaced inside Western Oromia, alone.[11] Most recently, Ethiopian security forces have been implicated in shooting civilians, including ethnic Oromo, in Gambella regional state, in the aftermath of fighting with rebels in the state's capital.[12]

Meanwhile, the OLA and government officials have traded blame for two large-scale atrocities in Oromia since mid-June. The government has accused the OLA of the attacks, which reportedly targeted ethnic Amhara and resulted in hundreds of deaths. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has called for the urgent reinforcement of government security forces to prevent further killings. Accountability for all human rights violations, no matter which parties to the conflict committed them, is necessary to allow for meaningful reconciliation and a peaceful and stable Ethiopia.

The Horn of Africa, including the southern regions of Ethiopia, is also currently experiencing a severe drought, leaving many in need of humanitarian assistance. Recent reports suggest that at least 8 million individuals throughout southern Ethiopia are currently affected by the drought,[13] and over 2 million livestock have already been lost within Oromia.[14] I am very concerned about the ability of humanitarian aid to reach those individuals in need, especially in light of ongoing conflict and counterinsurgency operations in parts of the region. There have been reports about aid not being delivered to populations in need in southern Oromia due to security concerns.[15]

In light of the above, I urge you to strengthen your calls for the Ethiopian government to reach peaceful resolution of all conflicts throughout the country. In the short term, this means doing more to call attention to the human rights abuses being perpetrated against Oromos, both in your engagement with members of the Ethiopian government and in the State Department Human Rights Country annual report. I urge you to have Embassy staff travel to conflict-affected parts of Oromia to see the situation for themselves and speak to those affected.

In order to achieve lasting and sustainable peace throughout Ethiopia, I hope that the long-term focus of the State Department will include calling for the establishment of independent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses committed throughout Ethiopia,[16] and supporting the development of a truly inclusive and independent dialogue to chart a democratic path forward for the country. I stand ready to help the State Department develop these strategies, and look forward to working with you towards the peaceful resolution of conflicts throughout Ethiopia.

Sincerely,

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