Protesters call on the Ethiopian government to respect human rights, Washington DC, USA, 23 September 2006
By
Adotei Akwei and Nicole Southard
On
June 29, 2016 Ethiopia secured a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council
(UNSC) (see the full report here). The
position requires that countries garner at least a two-thirds vote to win the
position, and Ethiopia ran without competition, resulting in a win of 183 out
of 195 necessary votes.
This
is Ethiopia’s third stint on the UNSC and in a congratulatory message,
Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom, said the election is a clear
indication that the country has won the respect and trust of the world.
However, critics are concerned for what Ethiopia’s ascent into the UNSC (while
already part of the UN Human Rights Council) could mean for human rights and
justice in the region. Human Rights Watch
publication.
The
ruling government in Ethiopia has a persistent history of violent repression of
independent media, civil society organizations and political opposition. The
government enacted many restrictive laws that have led to the dismantling of
civil society, and through the misuse of the counter-terrorism law, has stifled
peaceful dissent. At the same time, human rights organizations have documented arbitrary
arrests, torture, injuries to thousands and the deaths of over 400 people as
a result of the government’s crackdown in the Oromia region going back to 2014.
In
response, the international community, including both the European Union Parliament
as well as U.S. Congress,
have issued statements of concern. The Senate is considering a resolution
condemning the violence provoked by the Ethiopian government against the Oromo
protesters and on the deteriorating human rights context, and the House of
Representatives is expected to follow suite. As
such, the election of Ethiopia to the UNSC has resurfaced serious concerns and will put the government of
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in the global spotlight regarding the
actions it takes at the United Nations as
well its
performance at home.
It is
probably naiveté to expect countries with poor human rights records to be
barred from being elected to the UNSC or call for them to be removed once
elected. Many countries under the rule of authoritarian regimes have been voted
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council: one example is Spain under
General Franco won a seat from 1969-1971. The Democratic Republic of the Congo
(then Zaire) under Mobutu was elected and served twice (1982 – 1983, 1990 –
1991).
(Photo
by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
A
case can be made that by admitting countries that are systematically committing
human rights abuses without any preconditions, the United Nations is eroding
the values and mission for which it was established. Today in Ethiopia
journalists are languishing in jail for exercising their rights, while peaceful
protestors are getting killed for exercising theirs. Another concern that has
been raised is that by becoming a member of the UNSC, the Ethiopian government
has the opportunity to lobby countries to refrain from criticizing the country
for its poor human rights records as opposed to improving it.
Ethiopia’s election to the UNSC also represents an opportunity: while the current Ethiopian
regime and its predecessor under the late Meles Zenawi have been authoritarian
at home and often have not listened to their own people, they have also had a
record of participation in multilateral activities. The country’s role in
sending peacekeepers in collaboration with the African Union and the United
Nations can be mentioned as a prominent example. The country also chairs the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and has played a central
role in mediating conflicts throughout the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia has the
opportunity to demonstrate that “African solutions for African problems” really
is a promise that can deliver in the field of peace and security policy.
To be
effective, however, the government must be a consistent leader on key human
rights issues throughout Africa — something which will first require widespread
and meaningful human rights reforms at home. Specifically, Ethiopia must
cooperate fully with UN special mechanisms, especially the rapporteurs on
peaceful assembly and torture, to further investigate the human rights abuses
occurring domestically, and beyond that, to take concrete steps to reform and
end practices that have eroded human rights in the country.
This
past week the Ethiopian government temporarily shut down Internet access and
subsequently banned the use of all social media sites amidst fears that the
national exam would be leaked. Ironically this action follows an announcement
made last week by the UN Human Rights Council that it is a “violation of
international human rights law” for a government to intentionally withhold access
to the Internet. Ethiopia is a member of this Council, and its actions thus far
expose the excessive measures which the government will take to maintain
unequivocal control over communication in the region — a clear violation of
freedom of expression.
As
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie said to the UN in 1963, “The Charter of the
United Nations expresses the noblest aspirations of man”, yet “these,
too, are only words; their value depends wholly on our will to observe and
honor them and give them content and meaning.” With these words in mind, how
the current Ethiopian government may choose to fulfill the aspirations of the
UN Charter will best be demonstrated by its actions in the coming years.
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