Falls Church, Virginia (02/08/2022) – On February 4th, U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to support stabilization, peace, and democracy efforts in Ethiopia. The bill was marked up today by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. OLLAA welcomes the introduction of this bill and has urged Representatives to use this bill to highlight atrocities that have been committed against the Oromo that have received little international attention, and to call for the release of political prisoners.
If passed, this bill would state that it is the policy of the United States to support efforts to end the civil war and other conflicts in Ethiopia alongside gross violations of human rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Specifically, it would require the Secretary of State to issue a determination on whether the Ethiopian government or other actors had committed genocide or crimes against humanity in the conflict in Tigray. It would also call on the President to impose sanctions on persons who had “expanded or extended” the civil war or other conflicts in Ethiopia; committed gross violations of human rights; “obstructed, delayed, or diverted” the provision of humanitarian assistance throughout Ethiopia; or provided weapons, such as drones, to any party to conflicts in the country. Among other items, it would also stop the US from providing assistance to Ethiopian security forces, and authorize the President to provide support to efforts to preserve evidence of atrocities in Ethiopia and pursue accountability for human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
In order for the US to end any of the measures taken following the adoption of the bill, the US would need to find that the Ethiopian government had taken certain steps, which vary slightly, but generally include having:
- Ceased all offensive military operations related to the the civil war and other conflicts in Ethiopia;
- Taken steps towards negotiations and a legitimate, inclusive political dialogue;
- Continuously allowed unfettered humanitarian access; and
- Cooperated with independent investigations of credible allegations of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, carried out in the course of the civil war and other conflicts in Ethiopia.
OLLAA is an umbrella organization that represents dozens of Oromo communities around the world.