Press Statement

September 20, 2016

The Association of Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) has received reports of the atrocities in the Southern Region’s Konso Wereda of Ethiopia, with the use of excessive and lethal force against the Konso people. According to local sources dozens were killed, and thousands were evicted from their villages. More than 1500 houses were burned. AHRE expresses deep concern over the Ethiopian Government’s continued use of unnecessary force against protesters in various parts of the country. AHRE calls on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately stop the use of excessive, unnecessary and lethal force by security forces against the Konso people.

Konso is one the Weredas (districts) in the Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) which had its own Special Wereda administrative structure before it has forcefully annexed into the Segen Area Peoples Zone, in 2012 without the consent of the Konso people. The Konso people petitioned and appealed against the decision by which the regional authority had incorporated three different Weredas including Konso into one special wereda, Segen. The Konso people claimed that this annexation severely affected their political, economic and other interests. They submitted their appeal through their elected representatives to the SNNPR government, to the House of Federation and all other relevant government authorities. However, government bodies have failed to give an appropriate and timely response to the complaint of the Konso people and to their demand to  either retain their previous administration structure, namely, the Konso Special Wereda or to elevate the  new “Zone” status to that of its own Wereda administration rather than being incorporated into the Segen Zone. [Read more…]

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To Permanent Representatives of

Members and Observer States of the

UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, 8 September 2016

RE: Addressing the escalating human rights crisis in Ethiopia

Your Excellency,

The undersigned civil society organisations write to draw your attention to grave violations of human rights in Ethiopia, including the recent crackdown on largely peaceful protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions.

As the UN Human Rights Council prepares to convene for its 33^rd session between 13 – 30 September 2016, we urge your delegation to prioritise and address through joint and individual statements the escalating human rights crisis in Ethiopia.

An escalating human rights crisis in Oromia and Amhara Regions

The situation in Ethiopia has become increasingly unstable since security forces repeatedly fired upon protests in the Amhara and Oromia regions in August 2016. On 6 and 7 August alone, Amnesty International reported at least 100 killings and scores of arrests during protests that took place across multiple towns in both regions. Protesters had taken to the streets throughout the Amhara and Oromia regions to express discontent over the ruling party’s dominance in government affairs, the lack of rule of law, and grave human rights violations for which there has been no accountability. [Read more…]

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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) is deeply concerned by the events unfolding in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Protests reportedly began in the Oromia region in November 2015, opposing the Federal Government’s plan to expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa. Reports indicate that despite the termination of the expansion plan, the protests continued due to the detention of activists, the use of excessive force, and killing of protestors by law enforcement officers.

More recently, protests reportedly erupted in the Amhara region of Gondar in July 2016 when armed police arrested members of the Welkait Committee who called for the recognition of the Welkait community, currently within the Tigray region, as part of the neighbouring Amhara region. [Read more…]

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