Falls Church, Virginia (07/01/2022) – As previously reported by OLLAA, in December 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Ethiopia. In this resolution, the HRC decided to establish an international commission of human rights experts on Ethiopia (Commission) charged with conducting a “thorough and impartial investigation into allegations of violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law and international refugee law in Ethiopia, committed since 3 November 2020 by all parties to the conflict”.
Since this resolution was adopted, OLLAA has been advocating for the Commissioners to adopt a broad interpretation of the scope of their mandate by investigating all credible allegations of human rights abuses committed across Ethiopia, particularly those committed inside Oromia and against Oromo civilians. This has included writing to the Commission shortly after it was established on the matter. OLLAA has also spoken with key stakeholders within the US government about the importance of including Oromia and Oromos in this investigation. After the Commission put out a call for inputs in May 2022, OLLAA also submitted a report outlining the abuses that have been committed against Oromo civilians since November 2020, and laying out our recommendations on transitional justice. Finally, we also submitted 4 individual cases for their review, which are emblematic of the kinds of abuses Oromos have routinely been subjected to over the past few years.
On June 30, 2022, Kaari Betty Murungi, the Chair of the Commission, gave an oral update on the work of the Commission to the HRC. In this update, she confirmed that the Commission would, indeed, be adopting a broad interpretation of their mandate, by stating that “recent events inside Western Oromia, clearly fall within the mandate of the Commission,” and noting their concerns about “ongoing atrocities against civilians, including events reported in the Oromia Region.”
OLLAA applauds the decision of the Commission to adopt a broad interpretation of their mandate and to investigate reported violations of human rights committed throughout Ethiopia, including inside Oromia. We note that, at this time, the Commission has confirmed that they are investigating one incident in Oromia–the recent massacre of civilians in Tole village–in their first report. OLLAA has also condemned this incident and called for the international community to launch an independent investigation into this attack, and we therefore welcome its inclusion in the Commission’s initial report. We further encourage the Commission to include other reported abuses inside Oromia and against Oromo civilians in this report, including those emblematic incidents we have submitted for their consideration. Finally, we note our support of the Commission and their work to investigate human rights abuses committed across Ethiopia since November 2020, and encourage them to continue reporting on abuses in Oromia in their future reports.
OLLAA is an umbrella organization that works in collaboration with dozens of Oromo communities around the world.