Background
Ethiopia’s socio-political and economic crises are rooted in patronage and historically antagonistic ethnic, religious, and political relations. In 1895, Italy invaded Ethiopia, ensuing the first Italo-Ethiopian War. On 1 March 1896, Ethiopia overcame the invasion and won the war at the Battle of Adowa.[1] On 23 October 1896, the two warring parties signed the Treaty of Addis Ababa, ending the war and recognising Ethiopia as an independent state.
On 3 October 1935, Italy, led by Benito Mussolini, invaded Ethiopia again, breaking the Treaty and starting the second Italo-Ethiopian War. Mussolini succeeded in occupying Ethiopia and, on 1 June 1936, merged the country with other Italian colonies, Eritrea and Italian Somalia, to form Africa Orientale Italiana (AOI, or Italian East Africa). Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, exiled to Palestine and later Britain, appealed before the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, for international assistance. On 5 May 1941, Ethiopia regained independence with military aid from Britain, though Italian resistance continued until 1943. In 1942, Britain and Selassie signed the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement, and full sovereignty was recognised in December 1944.
In May 1943, Tigray rebels, led by Blatta Haile Mariam Redda, launched the Woyane rebellion against Selassie in the Tigray Province, Ethiopia. Beyond ethnicity, provincialism shaped the distinct identity and provincial consciousness as societies composed of various ethnic groups. The Woyane rebellion resulted from inter- and intra-feudal tensions, peasant deprivation, unequal economic development, high taxation and corruption.[2] The British Military Mission in Ethiopia (BMME) provided military assistance to the Ethiopian government. On 9 August 1943, the US and Ethiopian governments signed a mutual assistance agreement. By November 1943, these three actors defeated the rebels and ended the Woyane rebellion.
On 4 November 1955, Selassie revised the Constitution, banning political parties and establishing a Council of Ministers. Between 13-16 December 1960, the country experienced another military rebellion led by Brigadier General Mengistu Neway, resulting in an estimated 500 deaths.[3] Minister of War Lieutenant General Merid Mengesha and government officers carried out an offensive attack, suppressing the rebellion. On 31 March 1961, Neway was executed for his involvement in the December 1960 rebellion.
In February 1974, the country experienced multiple mutinies within the Imperial Army. On 21 June 1974, the Derg, a military junta of junior and mid-level officers of the Imperial Ethiopian Army and police members, formed the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army in opposition to the government. On 12 September 1974, the Derg, supported by the Soviet Union and Leninist supporters, staged a coup dethroning Selassie.[4] Selassie was arrested and imprisoned. On 27 March 1975, the Derg officially abolished the monarchy, replacing it with a Marxist-Leninist military government that nationalised industry, enterprise and property.
Various opposition groups began an armed resistance against the Derg, leading to the Ethiopian Civil War. The civil war involved communist and anti-communist factions and Eritrean separatists already fighting in the Eritrean War of Independence. The civil war continued for two decades, and the country experienced a famine between 1983 and 1985 and economic decline, resulting in declining support for the Derg and rising support for the armed resistance. In 1987, the Derg dissolved the military junta and transitioned to the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) under the Workers’ Party of Ethiopia (WPE). The Soviet Union withdrew its support of the Derg, and in May 1991, the PDRE was defeated in Eritrea, and Mariam fled to Zimbabwe.
On 28 May 1991, a transitional government was established. A transitional charter was endorsed, providing a legal framework for the transitional period and establishing a Transitional Council of Representatives. In June 1994, the Council of Representatives approved a draft constitution that the Constituent Assembly elected by universal suffrage and adopted in December 1994. In August 1995, the constitution was enacted, establishing the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE).[5]
In May 1995, the transitional government ended after the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won the elections. The EPRDF was an ethnic federalist political coalition consisting of four parties: the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPFL), the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP), and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM). Ethiopia was declared a federal state under the Constitution of the FDRE, with nine regional states and two city administrations. Most states are divided along ethnic lines, and Ethiopia is an example of an ethnic federalism.
EPRDF struggled with internal friction, which resulted in fighting amongst its members. Dissenting internal and external voices were suppressed, and the EPRFD remained the dominant political leader for years. Grievances and resentment towards the EPRDF kept growing, leading to unprecedented protests in 2015, beginning in the Oromia Regional State and spreading to the rest of the country. The government declared a state of emergency, but it did not stop the protests. In 2018, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned, and Abiy Ahmed replaced him.
Ahmed began his term with a reform agenda rooted in the Amharic concept medemer, meaning synergy, and a vision of transforming Ethiopia’s political, social and economic landscape. Ahmed initiated measures to release political prisoners, widen civic space and freedom of the press, and reconcile Ethiopia and Eretria. Despite these changes, Ethiopia continued to grapple with socioeconomic and political issues. The TPLF left the EPRDF, later called the Prosperity Party, and took control of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia.
On 4 November 2020, the Ethiopian government began a military operation in Tigray against the TPLF. For eight months, the TPLF and the Ethiopian federal army supported by the Eritrean Defence Forces engaged in a military confrontation involving indiscriminate artillery strikes on residential areas and civilians, systematic rape targeting women and girls, intimidation, extrajudicial killings, maiming, harassment, imprisonment of ethnic Tigrayans, and looting and destruction of properties, including hospitals, religious sites, homes, and agricultural materials and resources.[6] A man-made famine also unfolded in the region. By April 2021, over 417 152 people, primarily women and girls, were displaced, and 600,000 people were killed.[7]
On 24 March 2022, conflict actors declared an indefinite humanitarian truce to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance. In late August 2022, fighting escalated, and peace talks were disrupted. On 2 November 2022, a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in Pretoria, South Africa, and the Tigray armed conflict ended.[8] Eritrea did not sign the agreement and continues to occupy parts of Tigray. Political tensions and sporadic violence continue to contribute to the country’s instability.
Amnesty
In June 2018, the government passed Proclamation No. 1096/2018 to Provide for Granting Amnesty to Outlaws Who Have Participated in Different Crimes.[9] The proclamation grants blanket amnesty involving the cancellation of criminal liability for persons who participated in different criminal offences, particularly terrorism, during political instability to contribute to the country’s development.[10] Applications for amnesty were only open for six months.
The government acknowledged that anti-terrorism laws were misused and removed three organisations from its list of terrorist organisations. The government invited exiled individuals and organisations to return to Ethiopia to broaden the political spectrum. Members of these groups returned home to continue peaceful political resistance. They returned with their military wings, which were later integrated into the national military and police after reform training. Hundreds of political prisoners were released, and prisons known for torture were closed. Prime Minister Abiy and other government officials visited and held discussions with Ethiopians living abroad to enhance the diaspora’s participation in the transition.
Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission
On 25 December 2018, the House of Peoples’ Representatives passed Proclamation 1102/2018 into law, establishing the Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission (ERC). The ERC was tasked with identifying and understanding the nature, causes, and extent of the repeated gross human rights violations and ensuring full respect and implementation of the basic human rights recognised under the constitution and the international and regional agreements ratified by Ethiopia. The commission’s objectives involved providing a platform for victims of gross human rights abuses to be heard and for perpetrators to disclose their actions. The commission aimed to foster national reconciliation, unity, justice, peace, and consensus among the various factions of society.
Commissioners included Solomon Ayele Dersso, the chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Yetnebersh Nigussie, a lawyer and disability rights activist; Berhanu Nega, opposition political party leader; Cardinal Berhane Eyesus, the head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church; and Haji Omar Idris, President of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council. Commission staff were selected from different ethnic, religious and professional backgrounds.
In April 2020, the commission established its administrative units and announced a three-year operations plan. It also set up a website for individuals to submit complaints and information about its mandate. On 1 March 2022, the national parliament dissolved the commission and ordered it to hand over its unused budget and office materials to the National Dialogue Commission (NDC).[11]
Public Apology
Prime Minister Abiy admitted in parliament that the government used torture and other unlawful techniques on suspects, acknowledging that such techniques amounted to terrorism by the state. In addition to acknowledging state-sponsored human rights violations, he offered an apology and promised to institute guarantees of non-repetition.[12]
Special Prosecutor’s Office
In 1992, the EPRDF government established the Special Prosecutor’s Office to investigate former civilian and military Derg officials, including the country’s former president Haile Mariam, for abusing their position in the party, the government, and mass organisation under the Derg-WPE regime.[13] In February 1994, the Prosecutor’s Office released a report summarising its work during its first year of operation. It reported that crimes, including summary executions, forced disappearances and torture, were carried out systematically on a large scale as a matter of state policy. Mariam presided over significant policy decisions between 1974 and 1991.
In 1995, a new constitution was enacted, setting up a federal system and guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens. Article 20 of the new constitution provided for the establishment of the suggested Public Defender Office. In 2000, there were 13 public defenders at the federal level and additional regional public defenders’ offices. Prosecutions of crimes committed under the Mengistu regime are ongoing within the national court system of Ethiopia. More than 1,569 decisions have been handed down, with many resulting in convictions. In December 2006, an Ethiopian court found Mariam guilty of acts of genocide and was given a life sentence (in absentia) in an Ethiopian court. In May 2008, the Ethiopian Supreme Court changed his sentence to death. Mengistu continues to live in Zimbabwe, and the government refuse to extradite him.
Transitional Justice Policy
In April 2024, Ethiopia adopted a national transitional justice policy. The policy is designed to confront and address past civil and political rights violations through interventions, including criminal accountability, truth-seeking, conditional amnesty, reparations and institutional reforms while incorporating traditional justice mechanisms.[14] The policy intends to address historical and contemporary violence impacting Ethiopian people nationwide.
In July 2024, the Ethiopian government adopted a roadmap detailing the implementation of this policy. This roadmap focuses on setting transitional justice in motion by enacting the required legislation, such as a bill to domesticate international crimes into Ethiopia’s legal system. These legislative measures will also support the creation of new transitional justice institutions, such as the Truth, Amnesty and Reparations Commission, the Special Prosecutor’s Office, the Special Bench, and the Institutional Reform Commission. The roadmap envisions establishing a coordinating institution to address sequencing issues and ensure complementarity and synergy when implementing various pillars of transitional justice.
Gender
Under Selassie, women were given social, economic, and political opportunities, including the right to vote and access to education. More women participated in politics and social movements.[15] Women’s organisations increased with women branches of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and the Ethiopian Patriotic Association and the creation of the Armed Forces Wives Association. During the Derg regime, the 1987 Constitution enshrined women’s rights into law.[16]
Ethiopia has a long history of social conservatism involving internalised norms of masculinity and femininity determining expectations and roles for Ethiopian women and men. In Ethiopian society, women’s roles and expectations are domesticised. Symbolically, women represent the home, the family, and the morality of the ethnic community. Men are viewed as providers, decision-makers, leaders, and strong, prepared for the public space.[17] Men experience preferential economic and political treatment with older sons and male relatives, receiving property inheritance.
Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict recorded large-scale sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), particularly gang rape and rape. Women and girls in the Tigray, Amhara, Afar and Oromia regions were targeted, many experiencing deliberate and repeated war-related SGBV. The conflict reported family members being forced to rape members of their own family at gunpoint.[18] Women and girls were drugged, kidnapped and gang raped. Women were also forced to engage in sexual exploitation for essential resources. These regions are recognised as conservative and highly religious, with sexual violence reported to be to humiliate and degrade individuals, particularly the rape of nuns in Wukro town and soldiers reported to target virgin girls.[19] Also, soldiers were reported to commit rape to ‘cleanse bloodlines,’ mainly targeting Tigrayan women.
Reporting of war-related sexual violence is inconsistent owing to poor healthcare access, with almost up to 70% of health institutions left non-functional because of the war.[20] Also, persisting stigma prevents some victims of sexual violence from coming forward, with many fearing to seek healthcare services. The scale of conflict-related sexual violence at the community and national level is not comprehensive, leading to continued insufficient data on this violence and inadequate services to address injuries from sexual violations.
Ethiopia has made advancements in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. The 2000 Revised Family Code gives women and men equal rights to land ownership, property inheritance during marriage, and equal division of assets in divorce. Women assume top positions within the government, including the Presidency, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and at least 50% of cabinet positions.[21] The government signed the 2019 Proclamation for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), allowing CSOs to receive foreign support for rights-based issues, including women’s issues, and signing the 2020-2024 National Costed Plan to End Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation. Despite these laws and political advancements, different norms across locations and ethnic and religious groups determine women’s access to practising their autonomy and freedoms.
International Actors
Since the beginning of the Tigray conflict, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) agreed to conduct a joint investigation into human rights violations and abuses.[22] In November 2021, the joint investigation team released its report and continues monitoring Ethiopia. In December 2022, the EHRC and OHCHR released an Advisory Note encouraging the implementation of transitional justice processes and principles, specifically accountability, truth-seeking, reparations, institutional reform and reconciliation.[23]
On 17 December 2021, the Human Rights Council passed resolution S-33/1, establishing an International Commission on Human Rights Experts in Ethiopia. The commission’s mandate was to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of violations and abuses of international human rights law committed by all parties involved in the conflict from 3 November 2020.[24] The commission’s mandate also involved making recommendations on technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia and providing guidance on transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation, and healing where appropriate. The commission adopted a gender-responsive and survivor-centred approach to investigating the gender dimensions of the violations and abuses. The commission was established and based in Entebbe, Uganda. On 21 September 2023, it submitted its report to the Human Rights Council, and its operations ended in October 2023.
On 2 November 2022, the African Union (AU) facilitated the Agreement of Lasting Peace, the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), signed in Pretoria, South Africa. The COHA provides a robust framework for dealing with historical and contemporary violence, including the Tigray war, to promote accountability, truth, redress for victims, reconciliation, and healing, consistent with the Constitution of FDRE and the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP).
In January 2023, the country issued a green paper on transitional justice policy rejecting international and hybrid tribunals, promoting national ownership of their transitional justice processes.[25] This follows public discourse rejecting international involvement in their transitional justice processes, calling for political statements such as ‘Ethiopian Transitional Justice for Ethiopians by Ethiopians.’ Emphasising national ownership, in April 2024 Ethiopia adopted a national transitional justice policy.
Sources
[1] Jan Záhořík, ‘Colonial perspective and nationalism(s) in Ethiopia in the context of African decolonization’ (2014).
[2] Gérard Prunier, ‘The 1943 Woyane Revolt: A modern reassessment,’ Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2010).
[3] University of Central Arkansas: Government, Public Services, and International Studies, ‘Ethiopia (1942- present),’ n.d., https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/ethiopia-1942-present/
[4] Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, ‘Anatomy of an Overthrow: How an African leader as toppled,’ 2016, https://adst.org/2016/10/anatomy-overthrow-revered-african-leader-toppled/
[5] Human Rights Watch, ‘III. Background,’ https://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/ethiopia/Ethio97d-02.htm
[6] Romina Istratii, ‘On the conflict in Tigray,’ Public Orthodoxy, (2021). https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/35272/1/On%20the%20Conflict%20in%20Tigray_Public%20Orthodoxy.pdf
[7] Aelaf Habte & Mekhon Afework, ‘Tigray Conflict Rapid Gender Analysis,’ April 4, 2021, https://fscluster.org/ar/document/tigray-conflict-rapid-gender-analysis
[8] Aljazeera, ‘One year on, peace holds in Tigray, but Ethiopia still fractured,’ November 2, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/11/2/photos-one-year-on-peace-holds-in-tigray-but-ethiopia-still-fractured
[9] Human Rights Watch, ‘Report of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Findings of Community Consultations on Transitional Justice (TJ) with Victims and Affected Populations in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,’ December 28, 2023, https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/report/flash-report-on-the-human-rights-situation-in-the-occupied-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem-following-the-attacks-on-7-october-2023/OHCHR-EHRC-Report-TJ-28-12-23.pdf
[10] Abrham Yohannes, ‘Granting of amnesty to outlaw who have participated in different crimes Proclamation No. 1096-2018, June 15, 2021, https://chilot.wordpress.com/2021/06/15/granting-of-amnesty-to-outlaw-who-have-participated-in-different-crimes-proclamation-no-1096-2018/
[11] Getahun Tsegaye, ‘Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission dissolves three years into its formation,’ March 1, 2022, https://thehabesha.com/ethiopian-reconciliation-commission-dissolves-three-years-into-its-formation/
[12] Awol Kassim Allo, ‘Torture, state terrorism and Ethiopia’s transformation,’ June 23, 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2018/6/23/torture-state-terrorism-and-ethiopias-transformation/.
[13] Julia Crawford, ‘Ethiopia promises transitional justice once again,’ March 2, 2023, https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/113197-ethiopia-promises-transitional-justice-once-again.html
[14] Tadessa Simie Metekia, ‘Monitoring transitional justice in Ethiopia: The crucial role of the African Union,’ December, 2024, https://www.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Monitoring-Transitional-Justice-in-Ethiopia-The-Crucial-Role-of-the-African-Union-Tadesse-Simie-Metekia-December-2024.pdf
[15] Indrawatie Biseswar, ‘A new discourse on ‘gender’ in Ethiopia,’ African Identities, Vol. 6, No. 4 (2008).
[16] Menghistu, F-T, ‘The process of making the new Ethiopian constitution; its historic significance and practical application: the case of human and civil rights within due process of law,’ Journal of Historical and Philosophical Thought, Vol.1, No. 2 (1991).
[17] African Feminism, ‘Exploring Ethiopian masculinities,’ March 21, 2018, https://africanfeminism.com/exploring-ethiopian-masculinities/
[18] Girmatsion Fisseha, Tesfay Gebrehiwot, Mengistu Gebremichael & Shishay Wahdey et al, ‘War-related sexual and gender-based violence in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: A community-based study,’ BMJ Global Health, Vol. 8, No. 7 (2023).
[19] Insecurity Insight, ‘Sexual violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region,’ March 30, 2021, https://insecurityinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sexual-Violence-in-Ethiopia-Tigray-Region-30-March-2021.pdf
[20] Gesesew H, Berhane K, Siraj ES, et al., ‘The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia: An assessment,’ BMJ Global Health, Vol. 6, No. 11 (2021).
[21] Africa United Nations, “Ethiopia country gender equality profile brief,” July 14, 2024, https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/abridged_version-ethiopia_country_gender_profile.pdf
[22] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Ethiopia: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to conduct a joint investigation with a view to a credible accountability process,’ March 25, 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/ethiopia-office-united-nations-high-commissioner-human-rights-and-ethiopian
[23] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘EHRC/OHCHR advisory note on the next steps towards the development of a human rights compliant Transitional Justice Policy for Ethiopia,’ October 11, 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ehrcohchr-advisory-note-next-steps-towards-development-human-rights
[24] United Nations Human Rights Council, ‘International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia,’ n.d., https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/ichre-ethiopa/index
[25] Tadessa Simie Metekia & Beza Dessalegn, ‘Ethiopia’s transitional justice: tensions around international experts role need swift resolution,’ August 21, 2024, https://issafrica.org/iss-today/ethiopia-s-transitional-justice-tensions-around-international-experts-role-need-swift-resolution
