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 eco-
nomic freedom in Ethiopia. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ethiopia Democracy 
and Accountability Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) support the advancement of human rights, 
democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of 
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the press, peacekeeping capacity building, and eco-
nomic development in the Federal Democratic Re-
public of Ethiopia; 
(2) seek the unconditional release of all political 
prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia; 
(3) foster stability, democracy, and economic 
development in the region; 
(4) collaborate with Ethiopia in the Global War 
on Terror; and 
(5) strengthen United States-Ethiopian rela-
tions based on the policy objectives specified in para-
graphs (1) through (4). 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The people of Ethiopia have suffered for 
decades due to military conflicts, natural disasters, 
poverty and diseases, regional instability, and the 
brutal dictatorship of the military junta under 
Mengistu Haile Mariam. Hundreds of thousands of 
civilians were brutally murdered by the Mengistu re-
gime, including women and children. Many more 
sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom, respect for 
human rights, and to bring an end to the brutal dic-
tatorship of the Mengistu regime. Members of that 
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murderous regime are currently living in Europe, the 
United States, and Africa. 
(2) In May 1991, the brutal dictatorship of the 
Mengistu regime came to an abrupt end when the 
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front 
(EPRDF) defeated the Mengistu army. In July 
1991, the EPRDF and a coalition of other political 
groups established a transitional government in 
Ethiopia. A number of liberation movements joined 
the transitional government in a spirit of a new start 
and the building of a democratic Ethiopia. These 
groups included the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), 
the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), and 
many others. 
(3) Since the ouster of the Mengistu regime in 
1991, the EPRDF-led government instituted a 
multiparty system and organized 3 regional and na-
tional elections and a number of local elections. The 
1995 and 2000 elections were largely boycotted and 
judged to be neither free nor fair. Some opposition 
groups participated in the 2000 elections, giving 
such groups 12 seats in the 546-seat parliament. 
(4) The May 2005 pre-election period and the 
conduct of the elections in Ethiopia were seen by ob-
servers to be transparent, competitive, and relatively 
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free and fair, although there were a number of prob-
lems reported. More than 90 percent of registered 
voters participated and dozens of political parties 
took part in the elections. Moreover, some inter-
national groups observed the elections, unprece-
dented access to the mass media was given to the 
opposition, and there were televised debates between 
the government and the opposition. Some political 
parties and armed political groups boycotted the 
2005 elections. However, trained local groups were 
barred from observing the elections. 
(5) Despite apparent improvement in the elec-
toral process, preliminary election results announced 
by the Government of Ethiopia shortly after the May 
15, 2005, elections were seen by observers as ques-
tionable. The opposition accused the Government of 
Ethiopia of stealing the elections and called for civil 
disobedience, which resulted in the killing of dem-
onstrators and detention of opposition leaders and 
thousands of their followers, including 11 elected 
members of parliament and the elected mayor of 
Addis Ababa. 
(6) The Coalition for Unity and Democracy 
(CUD), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces 
(UEDF), and the ruling EPRDF reached an agree-
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ment to resolve disputed election results peacefully 
with the help of the National Electoral Board 
(NEB). The NEB investigated more than 299 com-
plaints and later agreed to hold reruns in 31 con-
stituencies. In late August 2005, the NEB held re-
runs in the 31 constituencies as well as in all 23 
constituencies in the Somali region, where elections 
had been postponed due to insecurity. 
(7) Election results show that opposition parties 
won 170 seats in the national parliament, a signifi-
cant increase from the 12 seats they won in the last 
elections. Opposition parties also won the city coun-
cil in Addis Ababa, giving them control over the cap-
ital. An estimated 150 of the 170 opposition mem-
bers of parliament have taken their seats. In early 
May 2006, the Government of Ethiopia appointed a 
caretaker government in the capital. Members of 
parliament from the CUD walked out of parliament 
in protest. The CUD won the city, but the des-
ignated mayor has been in detention since November 
2005. 
(8) Human rights conditions deteriorated sig-
nificantly after the May 15, 2005, elections in Ethi-
opia and overall human rights conditions in the 
country remain poor. The Department of State, in 
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