Falls Church, Virginia (08/04/2022) – On Thursday, August 4, 2022, OLLAA submitted a letter to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, regarding the UN Human Rights Council’s International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (Commission). In this letter, we urged the US government to support the extension of the Commission’s mandate, while simultaneously arguing that the US government must do more to ensure that the Commissioners’ investigations include allegations of human rights abuses committed against Oromo civilians, both inside Oromia and across Ethiopia.
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.”
OLLAA has long advocated that attempts to address the current crisis in Ethiopia will only be effective if they consider the root causes of conflict throughout the country. As such, since this resolution was adopted, OLLAA has been advocating for the Commissioners to adopt a broad interpretation of their mandate by investigating all credible allegations of human rights abuses committed across Ethiopia, not just in the north, and particularly those committed inside Oromia and against Oromo civilians.
In recent months, the Commission decided to adopt terms of reference that make it clear they view their mandate as extending across the entirety of Ethiopia. However, during their oral update to the UN Human Rights Council, the Commissioners made it clear that they will be investigating only certain “emblematic incidents” in their initial report, and, at this time, it appears their initial report will fail to include incidents that highlight the culture of impunity that exists throughout Oromia, or other violations committed against Oromo civilians throughout the country.
OLLAA believes that the US must adopt a whole-of-country approach to Ethiopia, and not prioritize the interests of any ethnic or political group above the others. As such, we have encouraged Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield to play a leading role at the UN by working to ensure that all acts of violence against Ethiopian civilians are condemned and investigated, including those committed against Oromo civilians. It is only through such a thorough investigation that accountability and reconciliation for all affected groups can be achieved, leading to lasting peace in the region.
OLLAA is an umbrella organization that works in collaboration with dozens of Oromo communities around the world.