Police brutality in Ethiopia falls under the aegis of the Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP), which has responsibility for safeguarding civil law and abiding the country's constitution under Proclamation 2000, 2003 or 2011. Under Federal Police Officer Administration Regulation of 2012, dual obligation is promulgated to reinforce the law that every police officers should respect international human rights instructions and legal liability. [1]
Police brutality was first observed during the Derg regime who ruled the country from 1974 to 1991. Police forces were pertinent to repress ethnic nationalist rivals and enforce security, which also subjected to abuse the local population. [2]
Following end of the Derg regime in 1991, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) chairman Meles Zenawi, new constitution was formed that incorporated police reforms. In 1994, he formed new police regiment consisted of militia while retaining the Derg police force or training them as most of dismissed.
The Federal Police Commission established in June 2000 with the first Federal Police Complaint Hearing Committee mandated for an investigation of any allegation of police misconduct and abuse of power. By April 2003, it was replaced by the Federal Police Complaint Hearing Organ, solely for an investigation of allegation in serious police misconduct. On Article 52 of Federal Police Officers Administration Regulation, these committee only allowed of dismissal and reinstating the police officers that abuse the authority. [1]
The problem of incident of victimization in police brutality did not reflected in 2003 Federal Police Commission Proclamation, the 2011 Federal Police Commission Proclamation and the 2012 Federal Police Officers Administration Regulation. The African Union’s Luanda and Robben Island Guidelines or the United Nations’ Declaration on Justice for Victims of Abuse of Power and their Basic Principles on the Use of Force & Firearms obligated to establish disciplinary committee with the Ethiopian government to combat police brutality in both individual and systemic levels. [1]
During the protest in 2005 general election, 193 people killed by police and military units. The situation evolved to the worst in the areas of Oromia and Gambela regions caused by ethnic unrest. [3] The Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP) estimated number of staff at 30,000 in 2016 had active duty on enforcing law. Since assumption of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in April 2018, there were security reforms, including removal of senior figures from former regime, particularly military and intelligence sectors which deemed violated security organizations. In 2018, oversight was limited and Ministry of Peace introduced to survey the Federal Police, and in July 2019 new commissioner was appointed to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. The commissioner criticized publicly criticized the government and call for reform organizations. [4]
On 26 August 2019, a video clip of tagged man beaten by two police officers in Addis Ababa, while an elderly woman intervened the scene. An anonymous Twitter user posted the clip with comment reading "morning starter …as usual the Police, our men in blue, protecting us…" The event stirred outrage who criticized the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the then mayor of Addis Ababa Takele Uma Banti and Attorney General and Chief Justice. [5]
Police misconduct aggravated during Abiy Ahmed administration where security forces frequently initiated crackdowns on journalists and activists from human rights organizations and other opposition groups. [6]
On 16–20 September 2019, The UK Fact Finding Mission (FFM) among other sources identified rapid dismantling and purging of the security sector without proper new system. The senior representatives of OFC noted that "You have a sense across the board that there is a new system and regime but there are a lot of errors within this as forces act how they want. The old systems have been dissected/removed, but a new one has not been put in place, it means security/police do not have a mandate on how they can act". The FFM considered "Abiy dismantled the authoritarian structures too quickly. The first sector was the security sector, which is one of the most complicated sectors to break down and reform. Abiy knows whoever is in charge of the intelligence is in the ruling party so he tried to restructure this sector to get rid of the TPLF, but Abiy didn’t replace it with a new reform [sic, system/structure] which caused issues at the regional level." [4]
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative centre of Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa University (AAU) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, and one is located in Bishoftu, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) away. AAU has several associated research institutions including the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. The Ministry of Education admits qualified students to AAU based on their score on the Ethiopian University Entrance Examination (EUEE).
According to the U.S. Department of State's human rights report for 2022, there exists "significant human rights issues" in Ethiopia. In addition to extrajudicial killings and instances of "enforced disappearance", other human right issues in Ethiopia include arbitrary arrest, the censorship and unjustified arrests of journalists, the use of child soldiers, and more.
Law enforcement in Ethiopia is dealt with by the Ethiopian Federal Police at federal level and by regional police commissions in the Regions of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Federal Police (EFP) was established in 1995 to serve the public, to ensure the observation of human and democratic rights and to maintain the safety and welfare of the public. Its stated duties are the enforcement of laws and safeguarding constitutional guarantees, the prevention, detection and investigation of crime, the coordination of national state police commissions and development of national policing standards. The EFP also has to provide operational support to regional police commissions.
However, local militias also provide local security largely independent of the police and the Ethiopian military. Corruption is a perennial problem, particularly among traffic police who solicited bribes.
The U.S. Department of State states that its contacts within the Ethiopian government report that the findings of investigations into abuses by local security forces, such as arbitrary detentions and beatings of civilians, are rarely made public. However, the Ethiopian government continued its efforts to train police and army recruits in human rights. During 2008 the government was seeking assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the local non-governmental organization Prison Fellowship Ethiopia (JFA-PFE), and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to improve and professionalize its human rights training and curriculum. The JFA-PFE provided human rights training for police commissioners and members of the militia in 2008.
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Ethiopia–United States relations are bilateral relations between Ethiopia and the United States. Ethiopia is a strategic partner of the United States in the Global War on Terrorism. The United States is the largest donor to Ethiopia: in 2008 U.S. foreign aid to Ethiopia totaled US$969 million, in 2009 $916 million, with 2010 estimated at $513 million and $586 million requested for 2011. U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia is focused on reducing poverty and supporting economic development emphasizes economic, governance, and social sector policy reforms. Some military training funds, including training in such issues as the laws of war and observance of human rights, also are provided.
Abune Merkorios was an Ethiopian bishop and the fourth Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, elected after the death of Abuna Takla Haymanot in May 1988. Merkorios remained Patriarch for three years until 1991, when the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) overthrew the Communist military junta known as Derg in Addis Ababa. After spending almost three decades living in exile, he was allowed to return to Addis Ababa and be recognized as Patriarch alongside Abune Mathias.
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Adanech Abebe is an Ethiopian politician and attorney who is serving as the thirty-second mayor of Addis Ababa since 2021. She has been serving as a deputy mayor from 2020 until 2021. She previously was the Minister of Revenue and Customs Authority from 2018 to 2020, when she became the first female to assume the role of the Federal Attorney General of Ethiopia. She is the first woman to hold the mayorship since it was created in 1910.
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