Overview:
In 2014 the Ethiopian government continued to suppress free speech and
associational rights, shattering hopes for meaningful reform under Prime
Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Government harassment and arrest of
prominent opposition and media members continued, including the April
arrest of nine journalists who were charged under Ethiopia’s
controversial antiterrorism law. In April and May, massive protests in
Oromia Regional State broke out following the announcement of the
planned expansion of Addis Ababa into Oromia. At least 17 people died
after the military fired on unarmed protesters.
Despite nascent signs of an opening with Eritrea, formal dialogues
remain frozen between the two countries. The Ethiopian-Eritrean border
remains highly militarized, though no major border clashes were reported
in 2014.
Sporadic violence resumed in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region after talks failed
in 2013 between the government and the Ogaden National Liberation Front
(ONLF), a separatist group that has fought for independence since 1991.
In January 2014, two ONLF negotiators dispatched to Nairobi for a third
round of talks were abducted and allegedly turned over to Ethiopian
authorities by Kenyan police. The kidnappings effectively ended the
talks.
Ethiopia ranked 32 out of 52 countries surveyed in the Ibrahim Index of
African Governance, below the continental average and among the bottom
in East Africa. The country’s modest gains in the index are due to its
improvement in human development indicators, but its ranking is held
back by low scores in the “Participation and Human Rights” category.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties:
Political Rights: 7 / 40
A. Electoral Process: 1 / 12
Ethiopia’s bicameral parliament is made up of a 108-seat upper house,
the House of Federation, and a 547-seat lower house, the House of
People’s Representatives. The lower house is filled through popular
elections, while the upper chamber is selected by the state
legislatures; members of both houses serve five-year terms. The lower
house selects the prime minister, who holds most executive power, and
the president, a largely ceremonial figure who serves up to two six-year
terms. Hailemariam has served as prime minister since September 2012,
and Mulatu Teshome as president since October 2013.
The 2010 parliamentary and regional elections were tightly controlled by
the ruling coalition party Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF), with reports of voters being threatened with losing their
jobs, homes, or government services if they failed to turn out for the
EPRDF. Opposition party meetings were broken up, and candidates were
threatened and detained. Opposition-aligned parties saw their 160-seat
presence in parliament virtually disappear, with the EPRDF and its
allies taking all but 2 of the 547 seats in the lower house. The next
elections are scheduled for 2015.
B. Political Pluralism and Participation: 2 / 16
Shorn of their representation in parliament and under pressure by the
authorities, opponents of the EPRDF find it difficult to operate. In
July 2014, opposition members—two from Unity for Democracy Party, one
from the Arena Tigray Party, and one from the Blue Party—were arrested
without charges and held without access to legal representation. The
Ethiopian government denies the arrests were related to 2015 elections,
but the detainments follow the government’s pattern of suppressing
political dissent prior to popular votes.
A series of December 2014 rallies by a coalition of opposition parties
saw nearly 100 people arrested, including the chairman of the Semayawi
Party. Witnesses report that police beat protesters, though nearly all
those arrested were released on bail within a week.
Political parties in Ethiopia are often ethnically based. The EPRDF
coalition is comprised of four political parties and represents several
ethnic groups. The government tends to favor Tigrayan ethnic interests
in economic and political matters, and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation
Front dominates the EPRDF. While the 1995 constitution grants the right
of secession to ethnically based states, the government acquired powers
in 2003 to intervene in states’ affairs on issues of public security.
Secessionist movements in Oromia and the Ogaden have largely failed
after being put down by the military.
C. Functioning of Government: 4 / 12
Ethiopia’s governance institutions are dominated by the EPRDF, which
controlled the succession process following the death of longtime Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi in 2012.
Corruption remains a significant problem in Ethiopia. EPRDF officials
reportedly receive preferential access to credit, land leases, and jobs.
Petty corruption extends to lower-level officials, who solicit bribes
in return for processing documents. In 2013, the government attempted to
demonstrate its commitment to fighting corruption after the release of a
World Bank study that detailed corruption in the country. As part of
the effort, the Federal Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission made a
string of high-profile arrests of prominent government officials and
businessmen throughout 2013 and 2014. The Federal High Court sentenced
many corrupt officials in 2014, including in one case a $2,500 fine and
16 years in prison. Despite cursory legislative improvements, however,
enforcement of corruption-related laws remains lax in practice and
Ethiopia is still considered “highly corrupt,” ranked 110 out of 175
countries and territories by Transparency International’s 2014
Corruption Perceptions Index.
Civil Liberties: 11 / 40
D. Freedom of Expression and Belief: 3 / 16
Ethiopia’s media are dominated by state-owned broadcasters and
government-oriented newspapers. Privately owned papers tend to steer
clear of political issues and have low circulation. A 2008 media law
criminalizes defamation and allows prosecutors to seize material before
publication in the name of national security.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Ethiopia holds
at least 17 journalists behind bars—the second-highest number of jailed
journalists in Africa as of December 2014, after Eritrea. Restrictions
are particularly tight on journalists perceived to be sympathetic to
protests by the Muslim community, and journalists attempting to cover
them are routinely detained or arrested. Those reporting on opposition
activities also face harassment and the threat of prosecution under
Ethiopia’s sweeping 2009 Antiterrorism Proclamation. At least 14
journalists have been convicted under Ethiopia’s antiterror law since
2011, and none convicted have been released.
In April 2014, police arrested nine journalists—six associated with the
Zone9 blogging collective and three freelancers—and charged them with
terror-related offenses. Their trial has been postponed 13 times and was
closed to the public until recently; their defense lawyer claims the
defendants were forced to sign false confessions while in prison.
In June, the government fired 18 people from a state-run, Oromia-based
broadcaster, silencing the outlet’s reporting on Oromo protests. In
August, the government charged six Addis Ababa–based publications with
terrorism offenses, effectively shuttering some of the last independent
news outlets inside Ethiopia. In October, three publication owners were
convicted in absentia after they fled the country. The same month,
Temesgen Desalegn, former editor of the weekly Feteh, was convicted under Ethiopia’s criminal code on defamation and incitement charges and sentenced to three years in prison.
Due to the risks of operating inside the country, many Ethiopian
journalists work in exile. CPJ says Ethiopia drove 30 journalists into
exile in 2014, a sharp increase over both 2012 and 2013. Authorities use
high-tech jamming equipment to filter and block news websites seen as
pro-opposition. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), since 2010 the
Ethiopian government has developed a robust and sophisticated internet
and mobile framework to monitor journalists and opposition groups, block
access to unwanted websites or critical television and radio programs,
and collect evidence for prosecutions in politically motivated trials.
The constitution guarantees religious freedom, but the government has
increasingly harassed the Muslim community, which has grown to rival the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church as the country’s largest religious group.
Muslim groups accuse the government of trying to impose the beliefs of
an obscure Islamic sect, Al-Ahbash, at the expense of the dominant
Sufi-influenced strain of Islam. A series of protests against perceived
government interference in religious affairs since 2012 have ended in a
number of deaths and more than 1,000 arrests.
Academic freedom is often restricted in Ethiopia. The government has
accused universities of being pro-opposition and prohibits political
activities on campuses. There are reports of students being pressured
into joining the EPRDF in order to secure employment or places at
universities; professors are similarly pressured in order to ensure
favorable positions or promotions. The Ministry of Education closely
monitors and regulates official curricula, and the research, speech, and
assembly of both professors and students are frequently restricted. In
2014, the Scholars at Risk network catalogued three incidents in
academia, including the jailing or firing of professors who expressed
antigovernment opinions.
The presence of the EPRDF at all levels of society—directly and,
increasingly, electronically—inhibits free private discussion. Many
people are wary of speaking against the government. The EPRDF maintains a
network of paid informants, and opposition politicians have accused the
government of tapping their phones.
E. Associational and Organizational Rights: 0 / 12
Freedoms of assembly and association are guaranteed by the constitution
but limited in practice. Organizers of large public meetings must
request permission from the authorities 48 hours in advance.
Applications by opposition groups are routinely denied and, in cases
when approved, organizers are subject to government meddling to move
dates or locations. Since 2011, ongoing peaceful demonstrations held by
members of the Muslim community have been met with violent responses
from security forces. Protesters allege government interference in
religious affairs and politically motivated selection of members of the
Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council. Though momentum has slowed,
protests continue.
After the government announced an expansion of Addis Ababa’s city limits
into the Oromia Regional State in April 2014, thousands of Ethiopians
took to the streets. Witnesses reported that police fired on peaceful
protesters, killing at least 17—most of whom were students in nearby
universities—and detained hundreds.
The 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation restricts the activities
of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) by prohibiting work on
political and human rights issues. Foreign NGOs are defined as groups
receiving more than 10 percent of their funding from abroad, a
classification that includes most domestic organizations as well. The
law also limits the amount of money any NGO can spend on
“administration,” a controversial category that the government has
declared includes activities such as teacher or health worker training,
further restricting NGO operations even on strictly development
projects. NGOs have struggled to maintain operations as a result of the
law.
Trade union rights are tightly restricted. Neither civil servants nor
teachers have collective bargaining rights. All unions must be
registered, and the government retains the authority to cancel
registration. Two-thirds of union members belong to organizations
affiliated with the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, which is
under government influence. Independent unions face harassment, and
trade union leaders are regularly imprisoned. There has not been a legal
strike since 1993.
F. Rule of Law: 3 / 16
The judiciary is officially independent, but its judgments rarely
deviate from government policy. The 2009 antiterrorism law gives great
discretion to security forces, allowing the detention of suspects for up
to four months without charge. After August 2013 demonstrations to
protest the government’s crackdown on Muslims, 29 demonstration leaders
were charged under the antiterrorism law with conspiracy and attempting
to establish an Islamic state; their trial remains ongoing. Trial
proceedings have been closed to the public, media, and the individuals’
families. According to HRW, some defendants claimed that their access to
legal counsel has been restricted.
Conditions in Ethiopia’s prisons are harsh, and detainees frequently
report abuse. A 2013 HRW report documented human rights violations in
Addis Ababa’s Maekelawi police station, including verbal and physical
abuse, denial of basic needs, and torture.
Yemen’s June 2014 arrest and extradition of British citizen Andargachew
Tsige to Ethiopia at the government’s request has sparked outrage from
human rights groups. Andargachew is the secretary-general of banned
opposition group Ginbot 7 and was sentenced to death in absentia in 2009
and again in 2012 for allegedly plotting to kill government officials.
Reports suggest that police have denied the British Embassy consular
access.
Domestic NGOs say that Ethiopia held as many as 400 political prisoners
in 2012, though estimates vary significantly. Nuredine “Aslan” Hasan, a
student belonging to the Oromo ethnic group, died in prison in 2014;
conflicting reports about the cause of his death—including torture—have
not been verified.
The federal government generally has strong control and direction over
the military, though forces such as the Liyu Police in the Ogaden
territory sometimes operate independently.
Repression of the Oromo and ethnic Somalis, and government attempts to
coopt their parties into subsidiaries of the EPRDF, have fueled
nationalism in both the Oromia and Ogaden regions. Persistent claims
that government troops in the Ogaden area have committed war crimes are
difficult to verify, as independent media are barred from the region.
The government’s announcement of its intention to expand Addis Ababa’s
city limits into the Oromia Regional State exacerbates tensions over
historical marginalization of Oromia; according to activists, the
expansion will displace two million Oromo farmers.
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited by law and punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights: 5 / 16
While Ethiopia’s constitution establishes freedom of movement,
insecurity—particularly in eastern Ethiopia—prevents unrestricted
movement into affected sites.
Private business opportunities are limited by rigid state control of
economic life and the prevalence of state-owned enterprises. All land
must be leased from the state. The government has evicted indigenous
groups from various areas to make way for projects such as hydroelectric
dams. It has also leased large tracts of land to foreign governments
and investors for agricultural development in opaque deals that have
displaced thousands of Ethiopians. Up to 70,000 people have been forced
to move from the western Gambella region, although the government denies
the resettlement plans are connected to land investments. Similar
evictions have taken place in Lower Omo Valley, where government-run
sugar plantations have put thousands of pastoralists at risk by
diverting their water supplies. Journalists and international
organizations have persistently alleged that the government withholds
development assistance from villages perceived as being unfriendly to
the ruling party.
Women are relatively well represented in parliament, holding 28 percent
of seats and three ministerial posts. Legislation protects women’s
rights, but these rights are routinely violated in practice. Enforcement
of the law against rape and domestic abuse is patchy, and cases
routinely stall in the courts. Female genital mutilation and forced
child marriage are technically illegal, though there has been little
effort to prosecute perpetrators. In December 2012, the government made
progress against forced child labor, passing a National Action Plan to
Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor and updating its list of
problematic occupations for children.
