Ethiopia

Making love a crime: Criminalization of same-sex conduct in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published by on June 25, 2013

Amnesty International 25 June 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis of the legal environment and wider context of human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years have seen increasing reports of people being harassed, marginalized, discriminated against and attacked because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This is occurring in countries whose legal systems still condone the criminalization of consensual same-sex behaviour, and in countries where the police and justice systems are failing to prevent these crimes from happening. The continued criminalization of consensual same-sex Read the full article…

Ethiopia: ICRC Annual Report 2012

Published by on June 21, 2013

International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) 21 June 2013 Tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia persisted, with clashes occurring in border regions between the two countries. Meanwhile, the physical demarcation of the Eritrea-Ethiopia border remained stalled, with both countries maintaining a large military presence in the disputed areas. In the Somali Regional State (SRS), non-international armed conflict was ongoing between special regional police forces, operating with the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), and the Ogaden National Liberation Front. In other areas affected by intercommunal clashes, police forces, sometimes supported by the ENDF, were brought in to curb instability. The ENDF Read the full article…

Ethiopia: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 The state stifled freedom of expression, severely restricting the activities of the independent media, political opposition parties and human rights organizations. Dissent was not tolerated in any sphere. The authorities imprisoned actual and perceived opponents of the government. Peaceful protests were suppressed. Arbitrary arrests and detention were common, and torture and other ill-treatment in detention centres were rife. Forced evictions were reported on a vast scale around the country. Background In August, the authorities announced the death of Prime Minister Zenawi, who had ruled Ethiopia for 21 years. Hailemariam Desalegn was appointed as his successor, Read the full article…

Ethiopia: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on May 9, 2013

Freedom House 9 May 2013 Overview The death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was announced in August 2012, following months of speculation about his declining health, and he was replaced by his former deputy, Hailemariam Desalegn. Despite the change in personnel, the regime continued its pattern of harassing and imprisoning political opponents, journalists, and, increasingly, the country’s Muslim population. Meanwhile, Ethiopian troops carried out a series of military incursions into Eritrea in March, the first since the end of the war in 2000. Read the full report here.

Ethiopia: Concern about Two Journalists Held since June 2011 for “Terrorism”

Published by on April 26, 2013

Reporters Without Borders 26 April 2013 Reporters Without Borders is very worried about two journalists, Woubeshet Taye and Reyot Alemu, who have been detained since June 2011 and were given long jail sentences more than a year ago on terrorism charges. Taye, who was the deputy editor of the Amharic-language weekly Awramba Times, was transferred on 19 April to a detention centre in Ziway, 130 km southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. Alemu, a columnist for the national weekly Fitih and recent winner of an international media freedom prize, is in very poor health. “Nine months after a new prime Read the full article…

Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Published by on April 1, 2013

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office April 2013 SECTION IX: Human Rights in the Countries of Concern This section contains our review of the human rights situation in 27 countries where the UK Government has wide-ranging concerns. For this year’s report, we decided to review thoroughly the criteria we use for deciding which countries are of most human rights concern to the UK. We drew on feedback from the Foreign Affairs Committee and consulted with the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights in doing so. Our geographical directors, with input from our embassies and high commissions overseas, subsequently assessed all Read the full article…

Ethiopia: Human Rights work crippled by restrictive law

Published by on March 12, 2012

Amnesty International 12th March 2012 Human rights organisations across Ethiopia are being forced to close offices and lay off staff because of a ‘crippling’ law, said Amnesty International today in a new report. Amnesty’s report ‘Stifling human rights work: the impact of Ethiopia’s civil society legislation’ describes how the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation imposes heavy restrictions on human rights groups operating in the east African country, and allows for excessive government interference. The result is that Ethiopians have less access to independent human rights assistance. Amnesty International’s Deputy Africa Director Michelle Kagari said: ‘Rather than creating an enabling environment Read the full article…

Ethiopia: Dismantling Dissent - Intensified crackdown on free speech

Published by on December 16, 2011

Published by Amnesty International, 16 December 2011 Download the full report here SUMMARY Since March 2011, at least 108 opposition party members and six journalists have been arrested in Ethiopia for alleged involvement with various proscribed terrorist groups. By November, 107 of the detainees had been charged with crimes under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the Criminal Code. A further six journalists, two opposition party members and one human rights defender, all living in exile, were charged in absentia. Trials in all these cases have begun, and are ongoing at time of writing. Amnesty International believes that the prolonged series of Read the full article…

Ethiopia: Ethiopia using Anti-Terror Law to stifle dissent

Published by on November 21, 2011

Peter Heinlein, Voice of America News 21 November 2011 Two international human rights groups are urging Ethiopia to stop arresting journalists and political activists under anti-terrorism laws. The editor of one of Ethiopia’s last remaining independent newspapers has fled the country amid concerns that more arrests are coming. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued a statement Monday calling on Ethiopian authorities to stop using anti-terrorism laws to stifle political dissent. The unusual joint statement comes as ten journalists are being tried in three separate terrorism related cases in Addis Ababa. One of the trials involves 24 defendants, including several Read the full article…