Human Rights Due Diligence: Land grabbing as a human rights violation – Both government and TNC are accountable

By Garoma B. Wakessa | April 12, 2013

Introduction:

Prior to the annexation of the Southern part of today’s Ethiopia (Oromo, Kambata, Sidama and others)  into the Abyssinian heartland, the Abyssinians developed a communal system of landownership known as  “rist.”  The communal system “rist” applied to all Abyssinian lands.  The “rist” system guaranteed an entitlement share to all the Abyssinian descendants (both male and female), and individuals had the right to use a plot of family land known as “rist” (Land).  “Rist”  was hereditary, inalienable, and inviolable.  In all Abyssinian heartlands such as the provinces of Gojjam, Begemdir, and Semien (Gonder), Tigray and in the highlands of Eritrea, the major form of land ownership was the “rist” system.

When the Abyssinian King Menelik II declared war against the neighboring people of Southern Nations and Nationalities in the early 1880s to control the areas of the Southern Highlands of Oromo, Kambata, Sidama and Walaita and others, he had two major motives. The first motive was to establish ethno/national/racial hierarchy of Abyssinians over the people who were conquered.  The second was to exploit human and natural resources in the conquered regions. After several years of bloody war in which more than five million Oromos and others were killed, Abyssinian forces gained the upper hand in 1889 and then controlled most of the southern highland regions. Read more…

Ethiopian refugees being tortured in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Weyane Ambassador says :”The Ethiopian refugees are Eritreans”

The weyane saudi amabssador is saying “They are Eritrean refugees that came from yemen, and they claim to be Ethiopians to get paper” Read more…

Suddenly it is the Ethiopians!

Khalaf Al-Harbi
Okaz

Migrant humanitarian crisis on Yemen-Saudi border. In March 2012, up to 15,000 from the Horn of Africa (mostly from Ethiopia) to Saudi stranded–unable to cross the border and unable to return home.

March 6, 2013 (Saudi Gazette) — Suddenly the Ethiopians have become the greatest danger to our society!

The issue of the illegal foreigners has been narrowed down to a single nationality. Nobody asked how the Ethiopians were able to enter our country in such large numbers. Nobody questioned how they were able to stay all these long years in the bottom of the valleys and the backstreets of major towns and cities without being noticed.

Furthermore, overstayers from various nationalities are seen in broad daylight along intersections of major streets and roads in the main cities without any action to curb this phenomenon.

We are, however, very fond of the following scenario: We become angry all of a sudden and then become quiet and pacified. The conditions have remained the same for many years with no one enlightening us with a radical solution. Read more…

Ethiopia: Academic Institutions Are Meant to Teach; Not to Serve As Political Tools

HRLHA Appeal and Urgent Action

March 3, 2013 (HRLHA) — The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) strongly condemns the academic dismissals and suspensions of ten students of Addis Ababa University from their studies on February 21, 2013 upon their return to the University to resume their studies after a two-week break following the end of the first term exam. According to information obtained through HRLHA informants, this purely racial and politically motivated decision handed down by what is known as the discipline committee of the University was connected with the incident that took place in January 2013 between the Tigre and Oromo students. Various sources, including the HRLHA, have reported that the clash between the two groups of students was triggered when some students of Tigre nationals posted posters containing derogatory messages that aimed at the Oromo people. Read more…

Human Rights Watch World Report 2013 – Events of 2012

Ethiopia

February 1, 2013 (hrw.org) — The sudden death in August 2012 of Ethiopia’s long-serving and powerful prime minister, Meles Zenawi, provoked uncertainty over the country’s political transition, both domestically and among Ethiopia’s international partners. Ethiopia’s human rights record has sharply deteriorated, especially over the past few years, and although a new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, took office in September, it remains to be seen whether the government under his leadership will undertake human rights reforms.

Ethiopian authorities continued to severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly in 2012. Thirty journalists and opposition members were convicted under the country’s vague Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009.The security forces responded to protests by the Muslim community in Oromia and Addis Ababa, the capital, with arbitrary arrests, detentions, and beatings.

The Ethiopian government continues to implement its “villagization” program: the resettlement of 1.5 million rural villagers in five regions of Ethiopia ostensibly to increase their access to basic services. Many villagers in Gambella region have been forcibly displaced, causing considerable hardship. The government is also forcibly displacing indigenous pastoral communities in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley to make way for state-run sugar plantations. Read more…

Djibouti: Arrest and Deportation of Refugees

HRLHA

HRLHA Urgent Action No 2, 2013

January 12, 2013

For immediate Release

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) has learnt through its informants that the government of Djibouti has arbitrarily arrested 43 refugees from Ethiopia (Oromo and Ogdenian nationals) and deported the, to Ethiopia. All these refugees, who were picked up by the Djibouti security forces from their residences on the 31^st of December, 2012 were confined in a small detention cell and finally handed over to Ethiopian security forces on January 1, 2013 in violation of international treaties to which, we believe, Djibouti is a signatory. It has been difficult to obtain the names of all of the victims of these joint actions of the Djibouti and the Ethiopian governments. However, the HRLHA informant has managed to obtain the name of the followings: Read more…

Ethiopia: Beatings, Arrests and Detentions at Addis Ababa University

HRLHA Urgent Action

January 05, 2013

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) would like to express its deep concern regarding the unknown situations of students of Addis Ababa/Fininne University, who were arrested and detained following the clash between two groups of students on the Arat kilo University Campus (College of Natural Science) on the 2nd of January, 2013.

According to information obtained by HRLHA through its correspondents, more than 100 (one hundred) students, the big majority of whom are Oromos, have been taken into custody after being dealt with heavy-handedly by government security forces. HRLHA has also learnt that a lot of Oromo students have received from minor to major life-threatening injuries; and, as a result, a lot have been admitted to hospitals. There is also unconfirmed report that a student named Gammachu Abdi has already died from the severe injuries inflicted on him by the security agents. HRLHA has managed to get the names of the following students from among those who have been arrested and detained:  Read more…

Make Human Rights Activism towards Protecting the Right to Dissent your New Year’s Resolution

December 29, 2012

2013 New Year’s Message from HRLHA

As the New Year approaches its entry, most people make their personal resolutions to better themselves or the lives of others. The quick search of some of the top resolutions made year after year includes living healthy, spending less and saving more, working for the better life of family, etc. The recurring theme of each resolution is the fact that everyone is to a great extent trying to make the upcoming year even better than the outgoing. On the occasion of the coming New Year, we would like to wish all a happy new year filled with joys. May the New Year bring you success, health and prosperity! Read more…

Ethiopia: Perpetrators of Human Rights are not Protectors of Human Rights

HRLHA – November 14, 2012

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) strictly denounces that UN General Assembly elected Ethiopia on November 12, 2012 to serve in the UN human Rights Council for the next three years starting from January 1, 2013.

In the last two decades the Ethiopian Government led by EPRDF/TPLF has been repeatedly condemned by regional and international human rights organizations including US State Department and UN independent experts[1] and UN Special Rapporteurs for its heinous human rights crimes against its citizens. Read more…

Making Human Rights a Reality

How can we forever turn the tide on intolerance, discrimination, and extremism?

Introduction

We live in a world troubled by inequality and contradiction. Our Parliaments have outlawed a range of inhumane practices and passed laws intended to ensure fair treatment for all; yet human rights organizations remind us that for many of the world’s 6 billion human beings, life continues to be  a painful struggle for existence against injustice and abuse.
Given today’s modern sheen of civility, the particulars can alarm. In its Report of 2006, Amnesty International described significant human rights violations in 150 countries. The number of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights has soared from just over 1,000 in 1988 to 45,000 in 2005. Read more…