III 

Calendar No. 536 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 432 

Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance 

in Ethiopia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 20, 2016 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

COONS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

KIRK, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. GARDNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

JUNE 28, 2016 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, without amendment 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging 

inclusive governance in Ethiopia. 

Whereas the first pillar of the 2012 United States Strategy 

Toward Sub-Saharan Africa is to strengthen democratic 

institutions, and the United States Agency for International Development Democracy, Human Rights, and 

Governance Strategy states that strong democratic institutions, respect for human rights, and participatory, acVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jun 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR432.RS SR432

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•SRES 432 RS 

countable governance are crucial elements for improving 

people’s lives in a sustainable way; 

Whereas the third pillar of the 2012 United States Strategy 

Toward Sub-Saharan Africa is to advance peace and security, including supporting security sector reform; 

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 claimed 

100 percent of parliamentary seats; 

Whereas the 2014 Department of State Human Rights Report on Ethiopia cited serious human rights violations, 

including arbitrary arrests, killings, and torture committed by security forces as well as restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association, politically 

motivated trials, harassment, and intimidation of opposition members and journalists; 

Whereas the Government of Ethiopia has repeatedly abused 

laws such as the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to 

limit press freedom, silence independent journalists, and 

persecute members of the political opposition; 

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

society and nongovernmental organizations in Ethiopia 

across a range of purposes, particularly those investigating alleged violations of human rights by governmental authorities; 

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


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•SRES 432 RS 

Ethiopia, is indicative of the coercive environment in 

which journalists operate; 

Whereas the Ethiopian Human Rights Council reports at 

least 102 protestor deaths, and according to Human 

Rights Watch, Ethiopian security forces have killed at 

least 200 peaceful protestors in the Oromia region, and 

that number is likely higher; 

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 in violation of Ethiopia’s constitution; and 

Whereas, during President Barack Obama’s historic visit to 

Addis Ababa in July 2015, Prime Minister Hailemariam 

Desalegn expressed his government’s commitment to 

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

noted the need to step up efforts to strengthen institutions: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns— 

3 (A) killings 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 


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•SRES 432 RS 

1 (C) abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Proclama2 tion to stifle political and civil dissent and jour3 nalistic freedoms; 

4 (2) urges protesters in Ethiopia to refrain from 

5 violence; 

6 (3) calls on the Government of Ethiopia— 

7 (A) to halt the use of excessive force by se8 curity forces; 

9 (B) to conduct a full, credible, and trans10 parent investigation into the killings and in11 stances of excessive use of force that took place 

12 as a result of protests in the Oromia region and 

13 hold security forces accountable for wrongdoing 

14 through public proceedings; 

15 (C) to release dissidents, activists, and 

16 journalists who have been jailed, including those 

17 arrested for reporting about the protests, for 

18 exercising constitutional rights; 

19 (D) to respect the right to freedom of 

20 peaceful assembly and guarantee freedom of the 

21 press and mass media in keeping with Articles 

22 30 and 29 of the Ethiopian constitution; 

23 (E) to engage in open and transparent 

24 consultations relative to its development stratVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jun 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR432.RS SR432

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•SRES 432 RS 

1 egy, especially those strategies that could result 

2 in people’s displacement from land; and 

3 (F) to repeal proclamations that— 

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

5 harass or prohibit funding for civil society 

6 organizations that investigate human 

7 rights violations, engage in peaceful polit8 ical dissent, or advocate for greater polit9 ical freedoms; or 

10 (ii) prohibit or otherwise limit those 

11 displaced from their land from seeking 

12 remedy or redress in courts, or that do not 

13 provide a transparent, accessible means to 

14 access justice for those displaced; 

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

16 a review of security assistance to Ethiopia in light 

17 of recent developments and to improve transparency 

18 with respect to the purposes of such assistance to 

19 the people of Ethiopia; 

20 (5) calls on the Administrator of the United 

21 States Agency for International Development to im22 mediately lead efforts to develop a comprehensive 

23 strategy to support improved democracy and govern24 ance in Ethiopia; 


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•SRES 432 RS 

1 (6) calls on the Secretary of State, in conjunc2 tion with the Administrator of the United States 

3 Agency for International Development, to improve 

4 oversight and accountability of United States assist5 ance to Ethiopia pursuant to expectations estab6 lished in the President’s 2012 Strategy Toward Sub7 Saharan Africa; and 

8 (7) stands by the people of Ethiopia, and sup9 ports their peaceful efforts to increase democratic 

10 space and to exercise the rights guaranteed by the 

11 Ethiopian constitution. 


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emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 536 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 432 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting respect for human rights and 

encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia. 

JUNE 28, 2016 

Reported without amendment 


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