Whereas, terrorism is a danger to the peace, security and development of the country and a serious threat. The government of ethiopia routinely uses its vague and overly broad antiterrorism law to stifle freedom of expression and. Expressed grave concern over the ethiopian governments application of anti terrorism proclamation 6522009 to arrest and prosecute protesters, labelling them as terrorists without substantiated evidence expressed their concern that ethiopia s use of terrorism laws to criminalize peaceful dissent is a. Council arise to reform anti terrorism, media law ethiopia. This is the conclusion reached by the united nations, the worlds leading democracies, international human rights organizations, and numerous other groups. Proclamation on antiterrorism, published in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal republic of ethiopia on 28 august 2009 proclamation against international standards on freedom of expression. Initiatives such as the anti terrorism proclamation, 37 and the telecom fraud offences proclamation, 38 drafted by the information network security agency insa, ethiopia s equivalent the us national security agency nsa, emerged as central components of this process. Ethiopia s ruling coalition started talks with opposition groups on wednesday on amending provisions of an anti terrorism law that critics say. Human rights watch takes no position as to whether antiterrorism legislation is needed to. Some points on the ethiopian anti terrorism law from human rights perspective.
The most recent basis for punishment of journalists and media are the anti terrorism proclamation, the freedom of the mass media and access to information proclamation no. The law drew international condemnation for granting the government broad power to criminalize reporting that it claims supports or glorifies terrorist groups. Instead, yonatan tesfaye, a former spokesman of the semayawi blue party, was detained in december 2015 on charges under article 4 of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation. The government used the law to force the closure of the independent addis neger in late 2009, dealing a serious blow to key independent voices in the. The identity of those suspected for terrorism and arrested based on the law also gave this institutions a reason to take ethiopia a regular destination for their condemnations. Article 19 comments on anti terrorism proclamation article 19 today issues its analysis of the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation 2009 and calls for the government to fully recognise the right to freedom of expression under international and regional human rights law. Journalists remain in detention under antiterror proclamation. This paper analyses ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation. On wednesday 17 july 20, members of the european parliaments subcommittee on human rights visited ethiopia and urged the government to release journalists and opposition activists imprisoned under the countrys anti terrorism proclamation no. Open request on ethiopia anti terrorism law, proclamation 6522009 united nations secretary general, his excellency ban kimoon prime minster of ethiopia, au chair person his excellency hilemariam desalgne president of ethiopia, his excellency girma woldegiorgis african union commissioner chairperson, his excellency dr nkosazana dlamini zuma. Whereas, terrorism is a danger to the peace, security and development of the country and a serious threat to the peace and security of the world at large. A new discourse hailing security and stability as fundamental ingredients. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from unhcrs global network of field.
Unhcr is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. The impact of ethiopia s antiterrorism law on freedom of expression conference paper pdf available in ssrn electronic journal may 2017 with 4,203 reads how we measure reads. Pdf some points on the ethiopian antiterrorism law from. Comment on ethiopian antiterrorism proclamation article 19, london, 2010 law201003.
Anti terrorism proclamation 6522009 under article 20 declared that the court before which an arrested person is presented in accordance with article 19 of the proclamation, may give an order to remand the suspect for investigation or trial. Analysis of ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation march 9, 2009 summary this paper analyses ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards. Duration of crime investigation quandary under ethiopian. This regulation is issued by the council of ministers pursuant to article 34 of the definition of powers and duties of the executive organs of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia proclamation no. The council of ministers in its 68th regular session held on may 18, 2019, approved the anti terrorism draft law developed to prevent and control terrorism.
This law must be revised to align with international standards and must no longer be used to harass journalists, said seif magango. Time to repeal antiterrorism law in ethiopia inter. Addis abeba ethiopian lawmakers have ratified the revised the anti terrorism bill during their regular session today. Despite surging forward, ethiopia not free freedom. What influence has ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation got on the right to. The australian anti terrorism law, one of the legislation said to have been used as a basis for the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation. This paper analyses ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards. The security council had not in the beginning preempted the risk of counter terrorism measures violating counter terrorism human rights as it failed to immediately refer to states. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation.
Ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. It confirms that the law is designed and used by the ethiopian government as a tool of. Oda to ethiopia dipped during the 19982000 conflict between ethiopia and eritrea but has exceeded two billion usd per year since 2004. Ethiopias highly controversial antiterrorism law, proclamation no. Senior police officers enhance knowledge on humanitarian principles ethiopia.
End use of counterterrorism law to persecute dissenters. Open request on ethiopia antiterrorism law, proclamation. This diktat approved on a 28691 vote of the rubberstamp parliament is so arbitrary and. The new law was drafted by the federal attorney general office of ethiopia to protect the peace and security of the people and the government from the threats of terrorism. Ethiopian government and opposition start talks on. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. The report examines how the law, enacted in 2009, is a tool of repression, designed and used by the ethiopian government to silence its critics. The situation of human rights defenders in ethiopia ishr. By framing the adoption and execution of the eatp as an outcome of eprdfs longterm hegemonic project coalesced in. Ethiopian federal high court convicted two swedish journalists on. In 2016, ethiopia was the top recipient of oda in africamore than four billion usd. Amnesty international, human rights watch, committee to protect journalists cpj, all have openly criticized ethiopia for adopting the antiterrorism proclamation. The use of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation to arbitrarily arrest journalists is completely out of step with reforms witnessed in the country.
For optimal readability, we highly recommend downloading the document pdf, which you can do below. Members of parliament endorsed the bill, named proclamation to provide for prevention and suppression terrorism crimes, in majority vote with one abstention. Terrorism by anti terrorism law lately, meles zenawi, the dictator in ethiopia, has been rounding up dissidents, journalists, opposition party political leaders and members under a diktat known as antiterrorism proclamation no. A tool to stifle dissent, by the oakland institute and the environmental defender law center, authored by lawyers including representatives from leading international law firms, unravels the 2009 proclamation. Ethiopian legal information portal find laws, cases. The proclamation was adopted on 7 july 2009 and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia official gazette 15th year no. Ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to freedom of expression.
Ethiopian lawmakers ratify revised antiterrorism bill. The use of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation to arbitrarily arrest journalists is completely out of step with reforms witnessed in the country, said seif magango, amnesty internationals deputy director for east africa, the horn and the great lakes. I personaly appriciate your service i believe a lot to be done to increase the awarness of the community about civil rights and good governance ofcource the level of the awarness is different from place to place but the place where i live and working is not good training and conference is much needed to change the current situation in my area. In the wake of the 11 september 2001 attacks in the united states u. In february, in the course of a court hearing on a complaint by an ethiopian farmer that the uk violated its partnership principles by supporting the pbs program, dfid announced that it was ending support to the pbs program. Ethiopia s anti terrorism law the oakland institute. A tool to stifle dissent, authored by lawyers from leading international law firms, provides an indepth and damning analysis of ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation. Council of ministers approves antiterrorism law embassy. An examination of ethiopias anti terrorism proclamation. Human rights watch takes no position as to whether anti terrorism legislation is needed to. The proclamation was adopted on 7 july 2009 and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal. This article is the right of thought, opinion and expression.
Mahlet fasil addis abeba, march 62017 as fresh terrorism charges against several individuals surge following the yearlong public protests that led to the current state of emergency, prosecutors in ethiopia have today charged a group of 76 individuals with various articles of ethiopia s infamous anti terrorism proclamation atp. File pedestrians walk past the federal high court building in addis ababa, ethiopia, nov. An analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism law human rights. Terrorism proclamation antiterror law have severely undermined civil society and. Laws in ethiopia designed to prosecute terrorism are increasingly being used to silence political dissidents, opposition party members, journalists and others in civil society.
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