Falls Church, Virginia(10/14/2022) – On September 30, 2022, the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor launched the Human Rights Reporting Gateway, which is designed to allow individuals and organizations the opportunity to submit reports of gross human rights violations (extrajudicial killings; forced disappearances; torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment or punishment; and rape) committed by foreign security forces (military, paramilitary, or law enforcement agencies). This gateway was launched in order to help the State Department implement the Leahy Law, which prohibits the U.S. government from, “using funds for assistance to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights.” The State Department will be collecting these reports on an ongoing basis, which can be submitted through their gateway.
As previously reported by OLLAA, in December 2021, the UN HRC voted to establish an International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) tasked with investigating human rights abuses committed since the start of the conflict in northern Ethiopia in November 2020. In September, the ICHREE released its first report, which specifically noted the need to investigate the human rights situation in Oromia. Since the ICHREE’s mandate was renewed on October 7, the commission has reissued its call for submissions from individuals, groups, and organizations regarding violations of human rights committed since November 3, 2020. The deadline to submit reports of violations is December 31, 2022, and respondents are asked to upload the following submission sheet to the Commission’s secure cloud file transfer system.
OLLAA welcomes the establishment of both these systems, which will allow for victims of human rights and their families to submit reports of abuses directly to key investigative bodies and decision makers. We strongly encourage members of the Oromo community to utilize these tools to report on the human rights abuses they and their families have experienced. The abuses that have been committed against the Oromo people are often overlooked and under-reported. These tools provide the Oromo community with the opportunity to help shed light on victims and call for justice.
OLLAA is an umbrella organization that works in collaboration with dozens of Oromo communities around the world.