“A year after political violence erupted in Burundi, nearly 300 000 people have fled to neighboring Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo. More than half of those fleeing are women and children who must start their lives over in foreign lands with little more than the basic necessities they fled with. Life in the refugee camps is a daily challenge for women and girls. They face not only food shortage and poverty, but also higher rates of sexual and domestic violence, and increased chances of early marriage. UN Women sets up “Safe Spaces” in refugee camps to offer income opportunities and business training for women, as well as psycho-social counselling and trauma assistance” (United Nations, 2016)
Tag: United Nations
Readout for the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa (19.09.2016)

The Secretary-General and the President discussed the importance of inclusive political dialogue in South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
GENEVA, Switzerland, September 19, 2016 – The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Jacob ZUMA, President of South Africa. The Secretary-General thanked South Africa for its many contributions to peace and security in Africa.
He urged South Africa to ratify the climate change agreement as soon as possible. He also drew attention to migration and refugee challenges and stressed the need for a truly global sharing of responsibilities.
The Secretary-General and the President discussed the importance of inclusive political dialogue in South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On the International Day of Democracy, UNPO Vice-President Delivers a Statement at the Human Rights Council (15.09.2016)

Each year on the 15 September, the world celebrates the International Day of Democracy, highlighting the global importance of maintaining democratic values for nations and peoples. As one of its fundamental principles, UNPO is committed to advocating and supporting democracy around the world. Democracy is a form of government by and for the people, where freedom of expression, protection of human rights and the rule of law ensure that all its citizens are treated equally. For many nations and peoples, however, autocratic governments not only fail to uphold democratic values but also are the very perpetrators of gross human rights violations. On this day, the international community turns its attention to victims of undemocratic governments and reflect on what can be done to promote inclusive, participatory, representative, accountable and transparent political systems.
On this year’s International Day of Democracy, UNPO would like to draw particular attention to the case of Ethiopia. Despite its complete lack of democratic setup, the country is generally hailed as an African democratic role model and a beacon of stability in an otherwise troubled region. Aiming to raise awareness of the human rights abuses in Ethiopia committed by the authoritarian Tigray-dominated regime, Mr Abdirahman Mahdi, the leading representative of the Ogaden People’s Rights Organization and UNPO Vice-President, spoke today [15 September 2016] at the 33rd United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of the Nonradical Party, Transnational and Transparty.
In his speech, Mr. Mahdi highlighted that “while Ethiopia, in theory, has a federalist constitution that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy for the nations-based federal states and equal participation in national politics – in practice almost all the nations have no real say in political, economic and military affairs, instead these fall under the sole control of a Tigray-dominated elite, who does not shy away from using excessive violence”.
Ethiopia is but one case of many governments that adopt features to portray itself as democratic to the international community when, in reality, the complete opposite is true. The Ethiopian government has denied its people all the fundamental democratic rights promulgated in its constitution. Elections are consistently rigged and external observers are banned from coming to Ethiopia to monitor them. Armed and security forces extend their reach through all levels all society while trying to showcase to the world that a federal system has ensured the right to self-determination to its ethnic groups, as stated in the constitution.
However, 500 people were killed since November 2015 in various protests, including the most recent protests outside of Qilinti jail against the detention of Oromo politicians and activists which, according to Mr. Mahdi, is “the latest evidence of the readiness of the government to exert brute force against civilians”. Systematic use of rape as a weapon by the Ethiopian army and paramilitary forces as a way to exercise total control through fear and violence was also highlighted by Mr Mahdi in his speech at the HRC. In addition to systematic persecution, the victims of the Ethiopian regime are silenced due to the criminalization of free speech, impeding the news of their plight to be widespread throughout the international community. Journalists from abroad are banned access and local journalists are jailed, while NGOs on the ground are forbidden to report the facts.
Against this background, recently the Oromo athlete Feyisa Lilesa’s powerful gesture of resistance at the 2016 Rio Olympics brought much-needed media attention to the plight of the Oromos and the other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Concomitantly, the European Commission’s decision not to send money from its Emergency Fund to Ethiopia in consideration of the serious violations of freedom of speech and right to protest in Ethiopia contributed to drawing the international community’s attention to the lack of democracy in the country. On the International Day of Democracy, UNPO reaffirms its commitment to its core values and will continue to raise awareness of violations committed by states which, in many cases, claim to be “young democracies” to conceal its appalling human rights records and dictatorial structure.
Tens of thousands of protesters call for a regime change in Ethiopia (Youtube-Clip)
“Tens of thousands of protesters have flooded the streets of Gonder in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia on Sunday demanding a change of government due to the unfair distribution of wealth in the country. The protest, reported to have been staged in defiance of a government order, is also in solidarity with the Oromia protests held between November last year to March 2016 in opposition to a government development plan in the region which could affect poor farmers” (Africa News, 2016)
EU Court of Justice Advocate General Finds that Western Sahara not part of EU-Morocco Trade Deal (14.09.2016)

Ethiopia Meet EBC Getachew Reda Government Communication Affairs Minister on Oromia and Amhara demonstrations (Youtube-Clip)
Open Letter – “Re; Addressing the escalating Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia” (08.09.2016)

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 33rd 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.
Protests in the Amhara region began peacefully in Gondar a month ago and spread to other towns in the region. A protest in Bahir Dar, the region’s capital, on 7 August turned violent when security forces shot and killed at least 30 people. Recently, on 30 August, stay-at-home strikers took to the streets of Bahir Dar again and were violently dispersed by security forces. According to the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), in the week of 29 August alone, security forces killed more than 70 protesters and injured many more in cities and towns across Northern Amhara region.
Since November 2015, Ethiopian security forces have routinely used excessive and unnecessary lethal force to disperse and suppress the largely peaceful protests in the Oromia region. The protesters, who originally advocated against the dispossession of land without adequate compensation under the government’s Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan, have been subjected to widespread rights violations. According to international and national human rights groups, at least 500 demonstrators have been killed and hundreds have suffered bullet wounds and beatings by police and military during the protests.
Authorities have also arbitrarily arrested thousands of people throughout Oromia and Amhara during and after protests, including journalists and human rights defenders. Many of those detained are being held without charge and without access to family members or legal representation. Many of those who have been released report torture in detention. The continued use of unlawful force to repress the movement has broadened the grievances of the protesters to human rights and rule of law issues.
The need for international, independent, thorough, impartial and transparent investigations
Following the attacks by security forces on protesters in Oromia earlier this year, five UN Special Procedures issued a joint statement noting that “the sheer number of people killed and arrested suggests that the Government of Ethiopia views the citizens as a hindrance, rather than a partner”, and underlining that “Impunity … only perpetuates distrust, violence and more oppression”.
In response to the recent crackdown, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has called for “access for independent observers to the country to assess the human rights situation”. Ethiopia’s government, however, has rejected the call, instead indicating it would launch its own investigation. On 2 September, in a public media statement, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights reiterated the UN High Commissioner’s call to allow a prompt and impartial investigation led by regional or international human rights bodies into the crackdown.
There are no effective avenues to pursue accountability for abuses given the lack of independence of the judiciary and legislative constraints. During the May 2015 general elections, the ruling EPRDF party won all 547 seats in the Ethiopian Parliament.
Ethiopia’s National Human Rights Commission, which has a mandate to investigate rights violations, has failed to make public its June report on the Oromia protests, while concluding in its oral report to Parliament that the lethal force used by security forces in Oromia was proportionate to the risk they faced from the protesters. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions has rated the Ethiopian National Human Rights Commission as B, meaning the latter has failed to meet fully the Paris Principles.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, who met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn at the margins of the European Development Days in June 2016, has called on all parties to refrain from the use of force and for a constructive dialogue and engagement to take place without delay. On 28 August, after the EPRDF party’s general assembly, Prime Minister Hailemariam reportedly ordered the country’s military to take any appropriate measures to quell the protests, which he described as illegal and aimed at destabilising the nation. Following a similar call regarding the Oromia protests, security forces intensified the use of excessive force against protesters.
A highly restrictive environment for dialogue
Numerous human rights activists, journalists, opposition political party leaders and supporters have been arbitrarily arrested and detained. Since August 2016, four members of one of Ethiopia’s most prominent human rights organisations, the Human Rights Council (HRCO), were arrested and detained in the Amhara and Oromia regions. HRCO believes these arrests are related to the members’ monitoring and documentation of the crackdown of on-going protests in these regions.
Among those arrested since the protests began and still in detention are Colonel Demeke Zewdu (Member, Wolkait Identity Committee (WIC)), Getachew Ademe (Chairperson, WIC), Atalay Zafe (Member, WIC), Mebratu Getahun (Member, WIC), Alene Shama (Member, WIC), Addisu Serebe (Member, WIC), Bekele Gerba (Deputy Chair, Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)), Dejene Tufa (Deputy General Secretary, OFC), Getachew Shiferaw (Editor-in-Chief of the online newspaper Negere Ethiopia), Yonathan Teressa (human rights defender) and Fikadu Mirkana (reporter with the state-owned Oromia Radio and TV).
Prominent human rights experts and groups, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, have repeatedly condemned the highly restrictive legal framework in Ethiopia. The deliberate misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation’s overbroad and vague provisions to target journalists and activists has increased as protests have intensified. The law permits up to four months of pre-trial detention and prescribes long prison sentences for a range of activities protected under international human rights law. Dozens of human rights defenders as well as journalists, bloggers, peaceful demonstrators and opposition party members have been subjected to harassment and politically motivated prosecution under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, making Ethiopia one of the leading jailers of journalists in the world.
In addition, domestic civil society organisations are severely hindered by one of the most restrictive NGO laws in the world. Specifically, under the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation, the vast majority of Ethiopian organisations have been forced to stop working on human rights and governance issues, a matter of great concern that has been repeatedly raised in international forums including at Ethiopia’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
This restrictive and worsening environment underscores the limited avenues available for dialogue and accountability in the country. It is essential that the UN Human Rights Council take a strong position urging the Ethiopian government to immediately allow an international, thorough, independent, transparent and impartial investigation into alleged human rights abuses committed in the context of the government’s response to the largely peaceful protests.
As a member – and Vice-President – of the Human Rights Council, Ethiopia has an obligation to “uphold the highest standards” of human rights, and “fully cooperate” with the Council and its mechanisms (GA Resolution 60/251, OP 9). Yet for the past ten years, it has consistently failed to accept country visit requests by numerous Special Procedures.
During the upcoming 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, we urge your delegation to make joint and individual statements reinforcing and building upon the expressions of concern by the High Commissioner, UN Special Procedures, and others.
Specifically, the undersigned organisations request your delegation to urge Ethiopia to:
- immediately cease the use of excessive and unnecessary lethal force by security forces against protesters in Oromia and Amhara regions and elsewhere in Ethiopia;
- immediately and unconditionally release journalists, human rights defenders, political opposition leaders and members as well as protesters arbitrarily detained during and in the aftermath of the protests;
- respond favourably to country visit requests by UN Special Procedures;
- urgently allow access to an international, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigation into all of the deaths resulting from alleged excessive use of force by the security forces, and other violations of human rights in the context of the protests;
- ensure that those responsible for human rights violations are prosecuted in proceedings which comply with international law and standards on fair trials and without resort to the death penalty; and
- fully comply with its international legal obligations and commitments including under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and its own Constitution.
Amnesty International
Article 19
Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Civil Rights Defenders
DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
Ethiopian Human Rights Project
FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)
Foundation for Human Rights Initiative
Freedom House
Front Line Defenders
Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect
Human Rights Watch
International Service for Human Rights
Reporters Without Borders
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
TPLF Special Forces brutal beating protesters in Amhara Region (Youtube-Clip)
Secretary-General’s message to the Sixth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (07.09.2016)

[Delivered by Ms. Mary Soliman, Acting Director, Geneva Branch, Office for Disarmament Affairs]
I am pleased to greet the Sixth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. I congratulate the Netherlands for assuming the Presidency of the Meeting and for leading its preparations. I also thank Switzerland, the host country.
Over the years, States, international organizations and civil society have worked together to establish and implement a solid legal norm prohibiting the use, development, production, acquisition, transfer or stockpiling of cluster munitions. This unity has made the Convention a success.
I congratulate Colombia, which ratified during the First Review Conference last year, as well as Cuba, Mauritius, Palau and Somalia for joining the Convention most recently, bringing the number of States parties to 100. The United Nations will continue to support all efforts aimed at the universalization of the Convention.
With the adoption of the Dubrovnik Action Plan, States parties have set an ambitious path of concrete actions and specific deadlines for the Convention’s further implementation by the Second Review Conference in 2020. Actions are to be undertaken in the crucial areas of universalization, stockpile destruction, clearance and risk reduction education, victim assistance, international cooperation and assistance, transparency and national implementation measures. Our shared hope is to achieve the destruction of additional stockpiled cluster munitions, the release of previously contaminated land for productive use and, ultimately, a reduction in the number of new victims.
Ridding the world of heinous cluster munitions is a moral and humanitarian imperative. I wish you every success as you embark on your important deliberations.

