I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2003 

To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of peace and security, respect 

for human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2007 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mr. HONDA, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Ms. WATSON, 

and Mr. CLAY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of peace and 

security, respect for human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ethiopia Democracy 

5 and Accountability Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States to— 

8 (1) support the advancement of human rights, 

9 democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of 


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1 the press, peacekeeping capacity building, and eco2 nomic development in the Federal Democratic Re3 public of Ethiopia; 

4 (2) seek the unconditional release of all political 

5 prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia; 

6 (3) foster stability, democracy, and economic 

7 development in the region; 

8 (4) collaborate with Ethiopia in the Global War 

9 on Terror; and 

10 (5) strengthen United States-Ethiopian rela11 tions based on the policy objectives specified in para12 graphs (1) through (4). 

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds the following: 

15 (1) The people of Ethiopia have suffered for 

16 decades due to military conflicts, natural disasters, 

17 poverty and diseases, regional instability, and the 

18 brutal dictatorship of the military junta under 

19 Mengistu Haile Mariam. Hundreds of thousands of 

20 civilians were brutally murdered by the Mengistu re21 gime, including women and children. Many more 

22 sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom, respect for 

23 human rights, and to bring an end to the brutal dic24 tatorship of the Mengistu regime. Members of that 


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1 murderous regime are currently living in Europe, the 

2 United States, and Africa. 

3 (2) In May 1991, the brutal dictatorship of the 

4 Mengistu regime came to an abrupt end when the 

5 Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front 

6 (EPRDF) defeated the Mengistu army. In July 

7 1991, the EPRDF and a coalition of other political 

8 groups established a transitional government in 

9 Ethiopia. A number of liberation movements joined 

10 the transitional government in a spirit of a new start 

11 and the building of a democratic Ethiopia. These 

12 groups included the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), 

13 the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), and 

14 many others. 

15 (3) Since the ouster of the Mengistu regime in 

16 1991, the EPRDF-led government instituted a 

17 multiparty system and organized 3 regional and na18 tional elections and a number of local elections. The 

19 1995 and 2000 elections were largely boycotted and 

20 judged to be neither free nor fair. Some opposition 

21 groups participated in the 2000 elections, giving 

22 such groups 12 seats in the 546-seat parliament. 

23 (4) The May 2005 pre-election period and the 

24 conduct of the elections in Ethiopia were seen by ob25 servers to be transparent, competitive, and relatively 


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1 free and fair, although there were a number of prob2 lems reported. More than 90 percent of registered 

3 voters participated and dozens of political parties 

4 took part in the elections. Moreover, some inter5 national groups observed the elections, unprece6 dented access to the mass media was given to the 

7 opposition, and there were televised debates between 

8 the government and the opposition. Some political 

9 parties and armed political groups boycotted the 

10 2005 elections. However, trained local groups were 

11 barred from observing the elections. 

12 (5) Despite apparent improvement in the elec13 toral process, preliminary election results announced 

14 by the Government of Ethiopia shortly after the May 

15 15, 2005, elections were seen by observers as ques16 tionable. The opposition accused the Government of 

17 Ethiopia of stealing the elections and called for civil 

18 disobedience, which resulted in the killing of dem19 onstrators and detention of opposition leaders and 

20 thousands of their followers, including 11 elected 

21 members of parliament and the elected mayor of 

22 Addis Ababa. 

23 (6) The Coalition for Unity and Democracy 

24 (CUD), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces 

25 (UEDF), and the ruling EPRDF reached an agreeVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:32 May 08, 2007 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2003.IH H2003

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1 ment to resolve disputed election results peacefully 

2 with the help of the National Electoral Board 

3 (NEB). The NEB investigated more than 299 com4 plaints and later agreed to hold reruns in 31 con5 stituencies. In late August 2005, the NEB held re6 runs in the 31 constituencies as well as in all 23 

7 constituencies in the Somali region, where elections 

8 had been postponed due to insecurity. 

9 (7) Election results show that opposition parties 

10 won 170 seats in the national parliament, a signifi11 cant increase from the 12 seats they won in the last 

12 elections. Opposition parties also won the city coun13 cil in Addis Ababa, giving them control over the cap14 ital. An estimated 150 of the 170 opposition mem15 bers of parliament have taken their seats. In early 

16 May 2006, the Government of Ethiopia appointed a 

17 caretaker government in the capital. Members of 

18 parliament from the CUD walked out of parliament 

19 in protest. The CUD won the city, but the des20 ignated mayor has been in detention since November 

21 2005. 

22 (8) Human rights conditions deteriorated sig23 nificantly after the May 15, 2005, elections in Ethi24 opia and overall human rights conditions in the 

25 country remain poor. The Department of State, in 


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1 its 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Prac2 tices, noted a myriad of human rights abuses by the 

3 Government of Ethiopia. Moreover, journalists and 

4 editors of the independent press have been and con5 tinue to face harassment and prosecution for alleged 

6 violations of press laws in Ethiopia. Dozens of jour7 nalists have fled the country, and some are currently 

8 in exile fearing prosecution or harassment. 

9 (9) In June 2005, more than 35 demonstrators 

10 were killed by Ethiopian Government security per11 sonnel and in November 2005 an estimated 53 peo12 ple were killed, including 7 policemen, according to 

13 Human Rights Watch and several other reports. The 

14 violence against these victims occurred after pro-op15 position groups went to the streets of the capital to 

16 protest government actions in handling the elections 

17 results of May 2005. Tens of thousands of people 

18 suspected of being opposition supporters were de19 tained over the past months, although many of these 

20 detainees were released. Nonetheless, government se21 curity forces continue to abuse opposition leaders, 

22 supporters, and family members. 

23 (10) An estimated 112 political leaders, human 

24 rights activists, community leaders, and journalists, 

25 including the chairman of the CUD (Hailu Shawel), 


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1 the newly elected Mayor of Addis Ababa (Berhanu 

2 Nega), and the founder of the Ethiopian Human 

3 Rights Council (Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam), 

4 were imprisoned and charged with treason and geno5 cide. These measures were deliberately taken to sti6 fle and criminalize opposition party activity in the 

7 country. The measures also were intended to intimi8 date and silence independent press and civil society, 

9 raising serious question about the Ethiopian Govern10 ment’s commitment to democracy and good govern11 ance. 

12 (11) According to Department of State’s 2006 

13 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 

14 ‘‘human rights abuses [in Ethiopia] reported during 

15 the year included: limitation on citizens’ right to 

16 change their government during the most recent 

17 elections; unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and 

18 mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters 

19 by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary 

20 arrest and detention . . .’’. 

21 (12) Whereas the Ethiopian Parliament estab22 lished an 11-member Commission of Inquiry to ‘‘in23 vestigate the disorder and report to the House of 

24 People’s Representatives in order to take the nec25 essary measure’’. The Commission was tasked to inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:32 May 08, 2007 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2003.IH H2003

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1 vestigate whether government security forces used 

2 excessive force, caused damage to life and property, 

3 or showed a lack of respect for human rights. The 

4 Commission was mandated to investigate the June 

5 8, 2005, and November 1–10, 2005, violence in dif6 ferent parts of the country. 

7 (13) Whereas members of the Commission of 

8 Inquiry visited several regions, reviewed police re9 ports, met with prisoners and government officials, 

10 made 122 radio and TV announcements to the pub11 lic, examined 16,990 documents, and took testi12 monies from 1,300 people. 

13 (14) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry con14 cluded that 763 civilians were injured and 193 

15 killed. The Commission also reported that 71 police 

16 officers were injured and 6 killed. Damage to prop17 erty was estimated at $512,588. The Commission 

18 also reported that more than 30,000 civilians were 

19 detained, some were tortured, and prisoners in Kaliti 

20 were killed. 

21 (15) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry re22 ported that security forces fired 1,500 bullets at 

23 prisoners, killing 17 and injuring 53. The Commis24 sion stated that civilians did not use weapons and 

25 reported bank robberies by demonstrators did not 


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1 take place. The Commission’s deliberations were 

2 video-taped and votes were taken on key findings on 

3 July 3, 2006. 

4 (16) Whereas shortly after the Commission of 

5 Inquiry reached its decision, the Ethiopian Govern6 ment reportedly began to put pressure on Commis7 sion members to change their report. The Chairman 

8 of the Commission, a former Supreme Court Presi9 dent of the Southern Region of Ethiopia, was told 

10 by a senior advisor of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi 

11 to call for an emergency meeting of the Commission 

12 in order to change the Commission’s report. 

13 (17) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry was 

14 scheduled to give its report to the Ethiopian Par15 liament on July 7, 2006, but the Parliament was ad16 journed a day early. Several Commission members, 

17 including the Chairman and the Deputy Chair, left 

18 the country with the final report, other documents 

19 relevant to the investigation, and several video tapes 

20 of the Commission deliberations. 

21 (18) Whereas in November 2006, the Chairman 

22 of the Commission of Inquiry and another Commis23 sion member presented the Commission’s report and 

24 briefed Members of the United State Congress. 


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1 (19) Whereas in November 2006, at a congres2 sional briefing with members of the Commission of 

3 Inquiry, a young women named Alemzuria submitted 

4 her testimony about what happened to her mother, 

5 Etenesh Yemam. Alemzuria’s father was elected in 

6 May 2005 as Council Member of in Addis Ababa. 

7 Subsequently security personnel came to arrest him 

8 at his home and then shot Etenesh Yemam as she 

9 pleaded for her husband’s release. 

10 (20) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry inves11 tigated the killing of Etenesh Yemam and confirmed 

12 beyond doubt what happened on that dreadful day. 

13 Etenesh Yemam’s husband still languishes in prison 

14 while Alemzuria remains a refugee in another Afri15 can country. 

16 SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA. 

17 The Secretary of State shall— 

18 (1) establish a mechanism to provide financial 

19 support to local and national human rights groups 

20 and other relevant civil society organizations to help 

21 strengthen human rights monitoring and regular re22 porting on human rights conditions in Ethiopia; 

23 (2) establish a victims support network to pro24 vide legal support for political prisoners and pris25 oners of conscience and to assist local groups or 


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1 groups from outside Ethiopia that are active in mon2 itoring the status of political prisoners and prisoners 

3 of conscience in Ethiopia; 

4 (3) seek to increase the independence of the 

5 Ethiopian judiciary through facilitation of joint dis6 cussions for court personnel, officials from the Ethi7 opian Ministry of Justice, relevant members of the 

8 legislature, and civil society representatives on inter9 national human rights standards; 

10 (4) create and support a judicial monitoring 

11 process, consisting of local and international groups, 

12 to monitor judicial proceedings throughout Ethiopia, 

13 with special focus on unwarranted government inter14 vention on strictly judicial matters, and to inves15 tigate and report on actions to strengthen an inde16 pendent judiciary; 

17 (5) establish a program to strengthen private 

18 media in Ethiopia, provide support for training pur19 poses, offer technical and other types of support as 

20 necessary, and expand programming by the Voice of 

21 America to Ethiopia; and 

22 (6) establish a mechanism to identify and extra23 dite members of the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime 

24 and the current government residing in the United 

25 States who were engaged in gross human rights vioVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:32 May 08, 2007 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2003.IH H2003

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1 lations and work with other governments to identify 

2 and extradite such persons, including Mengistu 

3 Haile Mariam. 

4 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIZATION IN ETHIOPIA. 

5 (a) STRENGTHENING LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND NA6 TIONAL DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES.—The Secretary of 

7 State shall— 

8 (1) provide assistance to strengthen local, re9 gional, and national parliaments and governments in 

10 Ethiopia through training in consultation with gov11 ernment authorities, political parties, and civil soci12 ety groups; 

13 (2) establish a program focused on reconcili14 ation efforts between the Government of Ethiopia 

15 and peaceful political and civil society groups, in16 cluding in minority communities, in preparation for 

17 negotiation and for participation in the political 

18 process; 

19 (3) strengthen training for political parties in 

20 Ethiopia in areas such as organization building and 

21 campaign management; and 

22 (4) provide training for civil society groups in 

23 election monitoring in Ethiopia. 

24 (b) DEMOCRACY ENHANCEMENT.— 


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1 (1) ASSISTANCE.—United States technical as2 sistance for democracy promotion in Ethiopia should 

3 be made available to the ruling party as well as op4 position parties in Ethiopia. 

5 (2) RESTRICTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nonessential United 

7 States assistance shall not be made available to 

8 the Government of Ethiopia if the Government 

9 of Ethiopia acts to obstruct United States tech10 nical assistance to advance human rights, de11 mocracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom 

12 of the press, economic development and eco13 nomic freedom in Ethiopia. 

14 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

15 term ‘‘nonessential United States assistance’’ 

16 means assistance under any provision of law, 

17 other than humanitarian assistance, assistance 

18 under emergency food programs, assistance to 

19 combat HIV/AIDS, and other health care as20 sistance. 

21 SEC. 6. ENSURING GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR HUMAN 

22 RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND ECONOMIC DE23 VELOPMENT IN ETHIOPIA. 

24 (a) LIMITATION ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE; TRAVEL

25 RESTRICTIONS.— 


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1 (1) LIMITATION ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (B), security assistance shall not 

4 be provided to Ethiopia until such time as the 

5 certification described in paragraph (3) is made 

6 in accordance with such paragraph. 

7 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

8 not apply with respect to peacekeeping or 

9 counter-terrorism assistance. Peacekeeping or 

10 counter-terrorism assistance provided to Ethi11 opia shall not be used for any other security-re12 lated purpose or to provide training to security 

13 personnel or units accused of human rights vio14 lations against civilians. 

15 (2) TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.—Beginning on the 

16 date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act and until such time as the certification 

18 described in paragraph (3) is made in accordance 

19 with such paragraph, the President shall deny a visa 

20 and entry into the United States to— 

21 (A) any official of the Government of Ethi22 opia who— 

23 (i) has been involved in giving orders 

24 to use lethal force against peaceful dem25 onstrators in Ethiopia; or 


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1 (ii) has been accused of gross human 

2 rights violations; 

3 (B) security personnel of the Government 

4 of Ethiopia who were involved in the June or 

5 November 2005 shootings of demonstrators; 

6 (C) security personnel responsible for mur7 dering Etenesh Yemam, as described in para8 graphs (20) and (21) of section 3; and 

9 (D) security personnel responsible for mur10 dering prisoners at Kaliti prison in the after11 math of the election violence. 

12 (3) CERTIFICATION.—The certification de13 scribed in this paragraph is a certification by the 

14 President to Congress that the Government of Ethi15 opia is making credible, quantifiable efforts to en16 sure that— 

17 (A) all political prisoners and prisoners of 

18 conscience in Ethiopia have been released, their 

19 civil and political rights restored, and their 

20 property returned; 

21 (B) prisoners held without charge or kept 

22 in detention without fair trial in violation of the 

23 Constitution of Ethiopia are released or receive 

24 a fair and speedy trial, and prisoners whose 


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1 charges have been dismissed or acquitted and 

2 are still being held are released without delay; 

3 (C) the Ethiopian judiciary is able to func4 tion independently and allowed to uphold the 

5 Ethiopian Constitution and international 

6 human rights standards; 

7 (D) security personnel involved in the un8 lawful killings of demonstrators, Etenesh 

9 Yemam, and Kaliti prisoners are punished; 

10 (E) family members, legal counsel, and 

11 others have unfettered access to visit detainees 

12 in Ethiopian prisons; 

13 (F) print and broadcast media in Ethiopia 

14 are able to operate free from undue interference 

15 and laws restricting media freedom, including 

16 sections of the Ethiopian Federal Criminal 

17 Code, are revised; 

18 (G) licensing of independent radio and tel19 evision in Ethiopia is open and transparent; 

20 (H) access in Ethiopia is provided to the 

21 Internet and the ability of citizens to freely 

22 send and receive electronic mail and otherwise 

23 obtain information is guaranteed; 

24 (I) the National Election Board (NEB) in25 cludes representatives of political parties with 


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1 seats in the Ethiopian Parliament and guaran2 tees independence for the NEB in its decision3 making; 

4 (J) representatives of international human 

5 rights organizations engaged in human rights 

6 monitoring work in Ethiopia are admitted to 

7 Ethiopia without undue restriction; and 

8 (K) Ethiopian human rights organizations 

9 are able to operate in an environment free of 

10 harassment, intimidation, and persecution. 

11 (4) WAIVER.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

13 waive the application of paragraph (1) or (2) on 

14 a case-by-case basis if the President determines 

15 that— 

16 (i) the Government of Ethiopia has 

17 met the requirements of paragraph (3); 

18 and 

19 (ii) such a waiver is in the national in20 terests of the United States. 

21 (B) NOTIFICATION.—Prior to granting a 

22 waiver under the authority of subparagraph 

23 (A), the President shall transmit to Congress a 

24 notification that includes the reasons for the 

25 waiver. 


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1 (b) TREATMENT OF POLITICAL PRISONERS AND

2 PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, the Secretary 

4 of State, and other relevant officials of the Govern5 ment of the United States shall call upon the Gov6 ernment of Ethiopia to immediately release all polit7 ical prisoners and prisoners of conscience, especially 

8 prisoners held without charge. 

9 (2) TORTURE VICTIM RELIEF.—While it is the 

10 responsibility of the Government of Ethiopia to com11 pensate the victims of unlawful imprisonment and 

12 torture and their families for their suffering and 

13 losses, the President shall provide assistance for the 

14 rehabilitation of victims of torture in Ethiopia at 

15 centers established for such purposes pursuant to 

16 section 130 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

17 (22 U.S.C. 2152). 

18 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that the Government of the United States should— 

20 (1) encourage the Government of Ethiopia to 

21 enter into discussions with peaceful political groups 

22 in order to bring such groups into full participation 

23 in the political and economic affairs of Ethiopia, in24 cluding their legalization as a political party; and 


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1 (2) provide such assistance as is warranted and 

2 necessary to help achieve the goal described in para3 graph (1). 

4 SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ETHI5 OPIA. 

6 (a) RESOURCE POLICY ASSISTANCE.—The President, 

7 acting through the Administrator of the United States 

8 Agency for International Development, shall provide as9 sistance for sustainable development of Ethiopia’s Nile 

10 and Awash River resources, including assistance to help 

11 Ethiopia with the technology necessary for the construc12 tion of irrigation systems and hydroelectric power that 

13 might prevent future famine. 

14 (b) HEALTH CARE ASSISTANCE.—The President, 

15 acting through the Administrator of the United States 

16 Agency for International Development, shall provide mate17 rial support to hospitals and health care centers in Ethi18 opia, especially hospitals and health care centers in rural 

19 areas. 

20 SEC. 8. REPORT. 

21 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to Congress 

23 a report on the implementation of this Act, including a 

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1 dom concerns that potentially threaten the stability of the 

2 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia . 

3 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for each of the 

6 fiscal years 2008 and 2009. 

7 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

8 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) 

9 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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