III 

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, and Mr. BROWN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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, accountable 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; 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 432 IS 

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 

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 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 432 IS 

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 

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


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 432 IS 

1 (2) urges protesters in Ethiopia to refrain from 

2 violence; 

3 (3) calls on the Government of Ethiopia— 

4 (A) to halt the use of excessive force by se5 curity forces; 

6 (B) to 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 region and 

10 hold security forces accountable for wrongdoing 

11 through public proceedings; 

12 (C) to release dissidents, activists, and 

13 journalists who have been jailed, including those 

14 arrested for reporting about the protests, for 

15 exercising constitutional rights; 

16 (D) to respect the right to freedom of 

17 peaceful assembly and guarantee freedom of the 

18 press and mass media in keeping with Articles 

19 30 and 29 of the Ethiopian constitution; 

20 (E) to engage in open and transparent 

21 consultations relative to its development strat22 egy, especially those strategies that could result 

23 in people’s displacement from land; and 

24 (F) to repeal proclamations that— 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 432 IS 

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

2 harass or prohibit funding for civil society 

3 organizations that investigate human 

4 rights violations, engage in peaceful polit5 ical dissent, or advocate for greater polit6 ical freedoms; or 

7 (ii) prohibit or otherwise limit those 

8 displaced from their land from seeking 

9 remedy or redress in courts, or that do not 

10 provide a transparent, accessible means to 

11 access justice for those displaced; 

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

13 a review of security assistance to Ethiopia in light 

14 of recent developments and to improve transparency 

15 with respect to the purposes of such assistance to 

16 the people of Ethiopia; 

17 (5) calls on the Administrator of the United 

18 States Agency for International Development to im19 mediately lead efforts to develop a comprehensive 

20 strategy to support improved democracy and govern21 ance in Ethiopia; 

22 (6) calls on the Secretary of State, in conjunc23 tion with the Administrator of the United States 

24 Agency for International Development, to improve 

25 oversight and accountability of United States assistVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Apr 21, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR432.IS SR432

asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 432 IS 

1 ance to Ethiopia pursuant to expectations estab2 lished in the President’s 2012 Strategy Toward Sub3 Saharan Africa; and 

4 (7) stands by the people of Ethiopia, and sup5 ports their peaceful efforts to increase democratic 

6 space and to exercise the rights guaranteed by the 

7 Ethiopian constitution. 

Æ 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS