Falls Church, Virginia (3/14/2023) — This month, senior members of OLLAA’s staff held meetings with USAID and Ambassador Mike Hammer, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, ahead of the US Secretary of State’s trip to Ethiopia from March 14-17th. During these calls, OLLAA spoke about the need for greater US engagement regarding the dire human rights and the humanitarian situation facing the Oromo throughout Ethiopia, the need for the US embassy to visit those areas most deeply affected by the drought, and the need for any transitional justice measures adopted to be truly inclusive.
During the meeting with Ambassador Hammer on March 10th, OLLAA specifically called on all members of the US government, and particularly Secretary Blinken and all others visiting Ethiopia from March 14-17th, to do the following:
- Engage with the Ethiopian government and leaders of the OLA in order to press for a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict in the Oromia region;
- Condemn all credible allegations of human rights violations perpetrated against Oromo civilians throughout Ethiopia;
- Conduct monitoring visits to those parts of Oromia that have been most affected by the drought, particularly the Borana and Bale zones, and prioritize the provision of humanitarian assistance to drought-affected communities;
- Ensure that any transitional justice measures adopted by the Ethiopian government are truly comprehensive and lead to an inclusive dialogue process that includes representatives of all major ethnic groups and political parties in order to chart a democratic path forward for the country.
OLLAA is grateful for the attention the US has recently given to the crisis in Oromia but believes that further action will be necessary in order to resolve the conflict that has greatly impacted civilians over the past four years. We believe that, given recent statements from both parties, this is a key moment for the US government and other actors to press for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Oromia and help to lay the groundwork for lasting peace throughout the country.
OLLAA is an umbrella organization that works in collaboration with dozens of Oromo communities around the world.