IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 861 

Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance 

in Ethiopia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. COFFMAN, and Mr. ENGEL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging 

inclusive governance in Ethiopia. 

Whereas the first pillar of the United States Strategy Toward 

Sub-Saharan Africa, announced in 2012, is to strengthen 

democratic institutions, and the Democracy, Human 

Rights, and Governance Strategy of the United States 

Agency for International Development states that ‘‘strong 

democratic institutions, respect for human rights, and 

participatory, accountable governance are crucial elements for improving people’s lives in a sustainable way’’; 

Whereas the third pillar of the United States Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa is to advance peace and security, including supporting security sector reform; 


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Whereas democratic space in Ethiopia has steadily diminished since the general elections of 2005; 

Whereas elections were held in 2015 in which the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front party 

claimed 100 percent of parliamentary seats; 

Whereas the 2015 Department of State Country Report on 

Human Rights Practices for Ethiopia cited serious 

human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, 

killings, and torture committed by security forces, restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association, politically motivated trials, harassment, and intimidation of opposition members and journalists; 

Whereas the Ethiopian Human Rights Council reports at 

least 102 protestor deaths, but according to Human 

Rights Watch, Ethiopian security forces have killed at 

least 400 peaceful protestors in the Oromia and Amhara 

regions, and the actual number is likely at the higher 

end; 

Whereas state-sponsored violence against those exercising 

their rights to peaceful assembly, in Oromia and elsewhere in the country, and the abuse of laws to stifle journalistic freedoms stand in direct contrast to democratic 

principles and violate the constitution of Ethiopia; 

Whereas since protests started in Oromia in 2015, the Ethiopian government has charged 135 Oromo students, opposition leaders, and activists at the Federal High Court 

under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP) and 

repeatedly has abused such law to limit the freedom of 

the press, silence independent journalists, and persecute 

members of the political opposition, including by— 


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(1) charging 20 university students in March 2016 

under the criminal code for protesting in front of the 

United States Embassy in Addis Ababa, based only on a 

video of their protest and a list of demands; 

(2) charging Bekele Gerba, the deputy chairman of 

the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress party (the 

largest registered opposition political party in Oromia) 

and 21 others, including many senior members of that 

party, under counterterrorism laws for having links with 

the banned Oromo Liberation Front; 

(3) charging Yonatan Tesfaye Regassa, the former 

head of public relations for the opposition Semayawi 

Party (the Blue Party), with ‘‘planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt’’ of a terrorist act, citing 

Facebook posts by Regassa about the protests as evidence; 

(4) arresting Getachew Shiferaw (the editor-in-chief 

of the online newspaper ‘‘Negere Ethiopia’’), Fikadu 

Mirkana, (a news editor and reporter with the public 

‘‘Oromia Radio and TV’’), and blogger Zelalem 

Workagenehu (with an independent diaspora blog) under 

charges of conspiring to overthrow the government and 

supporting terrorism under the ATP; and 

(5) refusing to allow timely life-saving medical treatment for Habtamu Ayalew, the former spokesman for the 

opposition Adenet (Unity) party, when he became unconscious due to apparent ill treatment during imprisonment; 

Whereas, on April 25, 2016, the Federal High Court sentenced the former governor of the Gambella region, 

Okello Akway Ochalla, to nine years imprisonment, and 

the trial of Ochalla and his co-defendants was marred by 

violations of fair trial guarantees and included the use of 


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witness testimonies in exchange for non-prosecution 

under the ATP; 

Whereas in August 2015, eighteen Ethiopian Muslim leaders 

received prison sentences ranging from seven to 22 years 

in prison for peacefully protesting against government interference in the religious affairs of the Islamic community; 

Whereas criminal courts in Ethiopia are weak, overburdened, 

subject to political influence, accept the use of forced confessions, and allow detainees to be held for months without charge; 

Whereas serious concerns have been raised regarding prison 

conditions in Ethiopia, including overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of access to potable water, excessive use of 

solitary confinement, withholding access to medical treatment, and denial of access to proper legal counsel or to 

visitors; 

Whereas laws such as the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation have been used to restrict the operation of civil 

society organizations in Ethiopia, especially those investigating alleged violations of human rights by governmental authorities; 

Whereas in June 2016, the government of Ethiopia announced that it closed down more than 200 nongovernmental organizations within the past nine months for 

failing to comply with the restrictive provisions of the 

2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation; 

Whereas the development strategy of the Government of 

Ethiopia has targeted the relocation of over 1,500,000 

people, including indigenous Anuaks in the Gambella reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:42 Sep 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR861.IH HR861

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gion, from their ancestral lands for large-scale land development under the ‘‘villagization’’ program; 

Whereas the case of the ‘‘Zone 9 Bloggers’’, whose arrest, detention, and trials on terrorism charges brought international attention to the restrictions on the freedom of 

the press in Ethiopia, is indicative of the coercive environment in which Ethiopian journalists operate; and 

Whereas during President Barack Obama’s historic visit to 

Addis Ababa in July 2015, Prime Minister Hailemariam 

Desalegn expressed the commitment of his government to 

deepen the democratic process and work towards improving governance and respect for human rights, and noted 

the need to step up efforts to strengthen institutions: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the— 

3 (A) killing of peaceful protesters and ex4 cessive use of force by Ethiopian security 

5 forces; 

6 (B) arrest and detention of journalists, 

7 students, activists, and political leaders who ex8 ercise their constitutional rights to freedom of 

9 assembly and expression through peaceful pro10 tests; and 

11 (C) abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Proclama12 tion to stifle political and civil dissent and jour13 nalistic freedoms; 


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1 (2) urges protesters in Ethiopia to refrain from 

2 violence; 

3 (3) calls on the Government of Ethiopia to— 

4 (A) end the use of excessive force by secu5 rity forces; 

6 (B) conduct a full, credible, and trans7 parent investigation into the killings and in8 stances of excessive use of force that took place 

9 as a result of protests in the Oromia and Am10 hara regions and hold security forces account11 able for wrongdoing through public proceedings; 

12 (C) release dissidents, activists, and jour13 nalists who have been imprisoned, including 

14 those arrested for reporting about the protests, 

15 for exercising constitutional rights; 

16 (D) respect the right to freedom of peace17 ful assembly and guarantee the freedom of the 

18 press and mass media, in keeping with Articles 

19 30 and 29 of the Ethiopian constitution; 

20 (E) engage in open and transparent con21 sultations with citizens regarding its develop22 ment strategy, especially those strategies that 

23 could result in the displacement of people from 

24 their land; 


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1 (F) allow a rapporteur appointed by the 

2 United Nations to conduct an independent ex3 amination of the state of human rights in Ethi4 opia; 

5 (G) repeal proclamations that— 

6 (i) can be used as a political tool to 

7 harass or prohibit funding for civil society 

8 organizations that investigate human 

9 rights violations, engage in peaceful polit10 ical dissent, or advocate for greater polit11 ical freedoms; 

12 (ii) prohibit or otherwise limit those 

13 displaced from their land from seeking 

14 remedy or redress in courts, or do not pro15 vide a transparent, accessible means to ac16 cess justice for those so displaced; 

17 (iii) allow for the arrest and detention 

18 of peaceful protesters and political oppo19 nents who legally exercise their rights to 

20 freedom of expression and association; and 

21 (iv) prohibit or otherwise limit peace22 ful nonprofit operations in Ethiopia; and 

23 (H) investigate the circumstances sur24 rounding the September 3, 2016, shootings and 


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1 fire at Qilinto Prison and publically release the 

2 report in an expedient manner; 

3 (4) calls on the Secretary of State to conduct 

4 a review of security assistance to Ethiopia in light 

5 of recent developments and to improve transparency 

6 with respect to the purposes of such assistance to 

7 the people of Ethiopia; 

8 (5) calls on the Administrator of the United 

9 States Agency for International Development to im10 mediately lead efforts to develop a comprehensive 

11 strategy to support improved democracy and govern12 ance in Ethiopia; 

13 (6) calls on the Secretary of State, in conjunc14 tion with the Administrator of the United States 

15 Agency for International Development, to improve 

16 oversight and accountability of United States assist17 ance to Ethiopia, pursuant to the expectations estab18 lished in the United States Strategy Toward Sub19 Saharan Africa; and 

20 (7) stands by the people of Ethiopia and sup21 ports their peaceful efforts to increase democratic 

22 space and to exercise the rights guaranteed by the 

23 Ethiopian constitution. 

Æ 


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