II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3457 

To reaffirm United States objectives in Ethiopia and encourage critical 

democratic and humanitarian principles and practices, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2008 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To reaffirm United States objectives in Ethiopia and encourage critical democratic and humanitarian principles and 

practices, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Support for Democracy 

5 and Human Rights in Ethiopia Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Despite progress and an estimated annual 

9 growth rate of nearly 10 percent, Ethiopia remains 

10 one of the poorest and most famine-prone countries 


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1 in the world, with more than half of the population 

2 of 78,000,000 living on less than $1 per day. 

3 (2) Since the collapse of the Derg and over4 throw of the Mengistu regime in 1991, the Ethio5 pian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front 

6 (EPRDF)-led government has overseen the introduc7 tion of a multiparty system and the drafting of a 

8 new constitution that guarantees economic, social, 

9 and cultural rights and states that ‘‘human and 

10 democratic rights of peoples and citizens shall be 

11 protected.’’ 

12 (3) Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody border 

13 war between 1998 and 2000, and, despite the Al14 giers Accord ending the conflict and the agreement 

15 to abide by the final and biding Ethiopia-Eritrea 

16 Border Commission (EEBC) arbitration, the Gov17 ernment of Ethiopia has refused to comply with the 

18 final physical demarcation of the border and the 

19 Government of Eritrea has virtually expelled the 

20 United Nations peacekeeping force, resulting in a 

21 high risk of renewed fighting and regional insta22 bility. 

23 (4) Following high turnout and marked im24 provement in pre-election campaigning and voting in 

25 the third general elections of the Government of 


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1 Ethiopia held on May 15, 2005, widespread charges 

2 of violations in the finally tallying and inadequate 

3 response to opposition complaints resulted in ob4 server findings that the elections failed to satisfy 

5 international standards. 

6 (5) Subsequent opposition progress led to a 

7 crackdown by EPRDF security forces in which 763 

8 civilians were injured and 193 killed, and thousands 

9 more opposition party leaders and their followers 

10 were detained, 112 of whom were not released until 

11 the summer of 2007. 

12 (6) In its 2007 ‘‘Countries at a Crossroads’’ re13 port, Freedom House noted that ‘‘[i]ncreased 

14 threats to and violations of civil liberties were a con15 sequence of the political tensions that sprang from 

16 the flawed 2005 elections.’’ 

17 (7) In December 2006, military forces of the 

18 Government of Ethiopia came to the aid of Soma19 lia’s Transitional Federal Government against the 

20 Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and continue to serve 

21 as the primary security force for the United Na22 tions-backed transitional government in Mogadishu. 

23 (8) Credible nongovernmental organizations re24 port widespread violations of human rights and 

25 international law by the Ethiopian military in 


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1 Mogadishu and other areas of Somalia, as well as in 

2 the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. 

3 (9) According to the Department of State’s 

4 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 

5 ‘‘human rights abuses [in Ethiopia] . . . include: 

6 limitation on citizens’ right to change their govern7 ment during the most recent elections; unlawful 

8 killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of de9 tainees and opposition supporters by security forces; 

10 poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and deten11 tion . . . use of excessive force by security services 

12 in an internal conflict and counter-insurgency oper13 ations; restrictions on freedom of the press; etc.’’ 

14 (10) The Department of State’s 2007 Country 

15 Reports on Human Rights Practices also stated that 

16 ‘‘[Ogaden National Liberation Front] ONLF forces 

17 . . . were responsible for widespread human rights 

18 abuses, including killings and the diversion of food 

19 supplies resulting in the displacement of thousands 

20 of persons.’’ 

21 (11) In June 2007, in response to this violence, 

22 including the deadly April 2007 attacks on a Chi23 nese oil exploration site in the Ogaden and at a May 

24 2007 political rally, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, 

25 Meles Zenawi, announced that the Government of 


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1 Ethiopia was launching a ‘‘political and military op2 eration to contain the activities of the ONLF,’’ 

3 which, according to credible reports, has resulted in 

4 the displacement of thousands of civilians to govern5 ment-designated ‘‘protection zones,’’ while thousands 

6 more have fled across Ethiopia’s borders. 

7 (12) Although the Government of Ethiopia has 

8 legitimate security concerns in the Ogaden, and, ac9 cording to the Department of State’s 2007 Country 

10 Report on Terrorism, ‘‘Ethiopian forces [also] coun11 tered Somali-based extremists who attempted to con12 duct attacks inside Ethiopia,’’ a number of credible 

13 media accounts, human rights organizations, and 

14 humanitarian agencies have documented the 

15 ENDF’s unjustifiably brutal tactics against its own 

16 citizens there, as has been previously been reported 

17 in other regions of the country including Oromiya, 

18 Amhara, and Gambella. 

19 (13) In May 2008, the Government of Ethiopia 

20 circulated a draft law that claims to be a tool to en21 hance the transparency and accountability of civil 

22 society organizations, but if enacted, is instead likely 

23 to create a complex web of onerous bureaucratic 

24 hurdles, draconian criminal penalties, and intrusive 


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1 powers of surveillance that would further decrease 

2 the political space available for civil society activities. 

3 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States— 

5 (1) to support the efforts by the people and 

6 Government of Ethiopia— 

7 (A) to achieve a participatory multiparty 

8 democracy, an active and unhindered civil soci9 ety, rule of law and accountability, judicial ca10 pacity and independence, freedom of the press, 

11 respect for human rights, and economic devel12 opment; and 

13 (B) to combat extremism and terrorism in 

14 their country and the region; 

15 (2) to promote stability, democracy, account16 ability, social and economic development, human and 

17 political rights, humanitarian assistance, the rule of 

18 law and accountability, and counterterrorism efforts 

19 in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa; 

20 (3) to seek the unconditional release of all polit21 ical prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethi22 opia; 

23 (4) to prohibit United States funding to any 

24 unit of the Ethiopian security forces if there is cred25 ible evidence that a unit of the security forces has 


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1 committed gross violations of human rights, unless 

2 the Secretary of State has determined and reports to 

3 the appropriate congressional committees that the 

4 Ethiopian government is taking effective measures 

5 to bring the responsible members of the security 

6 forces unit to justice; and 

7 (5) to contribute to regional peace and stability 

8 by urging the Government of Ethiopia to comply 

9 with the EEBC arbitration decisions on border de10 marcation, urging the Government of Eritrea to per11 mit a United Nations peacekeeping presence, and 

12 pressing both Governments to ensure that they are 

13 playing a productive role in helping to bring about 

14 stability along the border and throughout the Horn 

15 of Africa, including in Somalia. 

16 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

18 Government should— 

19 (1) build on successful diplomatic efforts that 

20 contributed to the October 2007 release of political 

21 prisoners in Addis; 

22 (2) urge the Government of Ethiopia to protect 

23 the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Ethio24 pian citizens; 


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1 (3) encourage the Government of Ethiopia to 

2 enter into discussions with political groups interested 

3 in reconciliation in order to bring such groups into 

4 full participation in the political and economic af5 fairs of Ethiopia; 

6 (4) call on the Government of Ethiopia to allow 

7 human rights and humanitarian groups and the 

8 media to undertake their work in all regions of Ethi9 opia without intimidation or harassment while ensur10 ing they are protected from any threats regardless 

11 of their political affiliations; 

12 (5) encourage and assist the United Nations 

13 and other independent organizations and the media 

14 in investigating credible reports of grave violations 

15 of human rights or international humanitarian law, 

16 publishing any evidence of serious abuse, and send17 ing strong and consistent messages to the Govern18 ment of Ethiopia that the continuation of such viola19 tions or impunity for the perpetrators of crimes in 

20 the Ogaden region, Ethiopia more generally, or in 

21 Somalia carry consequences; and 

22 (6) encourage the Governments of both Ethi23 opia and Eritrea to take steps to lessen tensions, 

24 physically demarcate the border in accord with the 


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1 EEBC decision, and promote normalization of rela2 tions between the two countries. 

3 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN 

4 ETHIOPIA. 

5 (a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to subsection (b) and not6 withstanding any other provision of law, the President 

7 should take additional steps to support the implementa8 tion of democracy and governance institutions and organi9 zations in Ethiopia consistent with the provisions of the 

10 Ethiopian Constitution of 1994 and related national law, 

11 including— 

12 (1) to support democracy development in Ethi13 opia, including developing the capacity of govern14 ment and civil society organizations to undertake 

15 free, fair, and peaceful elections, strengthen good 

16 governance practices, and encourage transparency 

17 and accountability, in accordance with international 

18 norms and standards; 

19 (2) to support the autonomy and fundamental 

20 freedoms of national and international civil society 

21 organizations to effectively pursue these objectives 

22 without excessive government regulation or intimida23 tion; 


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1 (3) to promote and bolster the independence of 

2 the judiciary in Ethiopia, including developing ca3 pacity at the national, regional, and local levels; 

4 (4) to support programs to defend and protect 

5 the human rights of all the people of Ethiopia, espe6 cially women and minorities; 

7 (5) to expand programming of the Voice of 

8 America and other independent media in Ethiopia 

9 and ensure they are able to broadcast without inter10 ference; 

11 (6) to support efforts of the international com12 munity to gain full access to the Ogaden and other 

13 conflict-affected regions throughout the country to 

14 provide humanitarian and development assistance; 

15 and 

16 (7) to support a United Nations Special Envoy 

17 to launch a comprehensive dialogue process that 

18 seeks to bring about the normalization of economic 

19 and political relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea 

20 and works with the governments of both countries to 

21 address issues of stability both along their shared 

22 border as well as more broadly across the Horn of 

23 Africa, including in Somalia. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 

3 2009 to carry out this section. 

4 (c) CONDITIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Assistance provided pursu6 ant subsection (b) shall be allocated and dispersed in 

7 a fully transparent manner. 

8 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Funds 

9 made available to the Government of Ethiopia under 

10 subsection (b) and all other nonessential funds made 

11 available to the Government of Ethiopia under any 

12 other provision of law shall be subject to the regular 

13 notification requirements with respect to the appro14 priate congressional committees. 

15 (3) DISCONTINUATION IN EVENT OF GOVERN16 MENT OBSTRUCTION.—The President shall cease the 

17 provision of assistance provided under subsection (b) 

18 if the Government of Ethiopia acts to obstruct such 

19 assistance. 

20 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

22 Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to the appro23 priate congressional committees a report that describes 

24 the activities undertaken pursuant to subsection (a), in25 cluding a description of amounts committed, and the 


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1 amounts provided, to Ethiopia during the reporting pe2 riod. 

3 SEC. 6. OFFSETS. 

4 Of the amounts available to the National Aeronautics 

5 and Space Administration for fiscal year 2009, 

6 $20,000,000 shall be available to carry out the provisions 

7 of this Act. 

8 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

13 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

14 Senate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

16 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

17 of Representatives. 

18 (2) The term ‘‘non-essential United States as19 sistance’’ means assistance authorized under any 

20 provision of law, other than humanitarian assist21 ance, food aid programs, assistance to combat HIV/ 

22 AIDS and other healthcare assistance, and peace23 keeping assistance. 

Æ 


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