From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Fri Sep 12 2008 - 20:37:36 EDT
Friday, September 12, 2008
New Ethiopia rights bill introduced in US Senate
Andrew Gilmore at 10:55 AM ET
[JURIST] US Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) [official website] introduced a
new bill entitled the "Support for Democracy and Human Rights in
Ethiopia Act of 2008" [S. 3427 text, PDF] in the Senate on Tuesday,
calling for greater support for individual and political rights in
Ethiopia [JURIST news archive]. The bill is meant to "build on
successful diplomatic efforts that contributed to the October 2007
release of political prisoners in Addis" to help resolve internal
conflicts over human rights and political participation. Co-sponsored by
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [JURIST news archive], the bill also is
also aimed at negotiations to settle the ongoing conflict between
Ethiopia and Eritrea [JURIST news archive]. Specifically, S. 3427 calls
on the President to support democracy, promote and bolster the
independence of the Ethiopian judiciary, ensure the protection of women
and minorities, and "support efforts of the international community to
gain full access" to Ethiopia's Ogaden region to "provide humanitarian
and development assistance." In order to fund these efforts, the bill
seeks to carve out $20 million from the 2009 budget of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) [official website]. Senator
Feingold stated:
As many in this body know, I have spoken numerous times in recent months
about the situation in Ethiopia and I continue to believe that the
U.S.-Ethiopian partnership is very important--one of the more critical
ones given not only our historic relationship but also Ethiopia's
location in an increasingly strategic region. ... As we turn a blind eye
to the escalating political tensions, people are being thrown in jail
without justification and non-government organizations are being
restricted, while civilians are dying unnecessarily in the Ogaden
region--just like so many before them in Oromiya, Amhara, and Gambella.
Furthermore, the Ethiopian military has come under increasing scrutiny
for its conduct in the Ogaden as well as Somalia, with credible reports
from non-governmental organizations of torture, rape and indiscriminate
attacks. By providing unconditioned security assistance we are also
sowing the seeds of insecurity and creating new grievances both in
Ethiopia and in its neighboring countries.
Ethiopia has recently come under increasingly-intense international
scrutiny concerning its poor human rights record. In June, Human Rights
Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] released a report [text, PDF] attacking
Ethiopian human rights practices in the Ogaden region [JURIST report].
In October 2007, the US House of Representatives passed the Ethiopia
Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R. 2003) [text; JURIST
commentary], aimed in part at encouraging the human rights situation in
Ethiopia. The bill is currently before the US Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations. In July 2007, HRW accused Ethiopian troops of
violating international humanitarian law [JURIST report] by burning
homes and forcibly relocating civilians in Ogaden. In March 2007, HRW
also accused Ethiopia of complicity with the US and Kenya in secretly
detaining Somalis [JURIST report] accused of being Islamic militants.
Ethiopia had admitted [JURIST report] in April 2007 that it detained
terror suspects but denied that the detentions were secret.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/09/new-ethiopia-rights-bill-i
ntroduced-in.php
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