Meti Mengistu (name altered for security reasons), born in one of the districts of Wallaga Zone of Oromia, is 16 years old. She was a student in seventh grade as well as a source of income for her family when she was abducted by armed militiamen and subjected to brutal rape and terror. Meti was targeted due to her Oromo ethnicity.
OLLAA staff spoke to sources close to Meti regarding her abduction and subsequent suffering at the hands of the Amhara extremist armed group known as Fanno. In addition to pursuing her education, Meti supported her family by trading maize. One day in October 2022, on her way home from buying maize in the small market in Botoro, Meti was abducted by members of Fanno and taken to an unknown location nearby. There, Meti was held for a month, repeatedly raped and terrorized by several armed groups who took turns on a daily basis. Upon her release, Meti, pregnant as a result of these rapes, did not receive any immediate medical treatment. She is now awaiting the birth of a child by one of her rapists. OLLAA has been reporting about multiple attacks Fanno has conducted against the Oromo civilians in Jarte, Amuru, and Kiramu.
International Laws
Rape and other forms of sexual violence are prohibited under both human rights and international humanitarian laws. The UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Child (ACRWC) impose on the state parties the duty to refrain from and to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, including rape. Ethiopia is party to both instruments. More importantly, rape during armed conflict constitutes war crime, and hence it is an international crime. The FDRE constitution also protects women from any sexual and gender-based violence. Meti’s case and others like hers show the Ethiopian government’s failure to protect citizens, in violation of its international obligations, by failing to thoroughly investigate and prosecute reports of sexual violence.