As a living victim of misuse of the anti terrorism proclamation atp in ethiopia, i face a heartbreaking judgement oftentimes from ordinary citizens who knew that i was once charged of the atp. The united states remains deeply concerned about the trial, conviction, and sentencing of ethiopian journalist eskinder nega, as well as seven political opposition figures, under the countrys antiterrorism proclamation. The security council had not in the beginning preempted the risk of counter terrorism measures violating counter terrorism human rights as it failed to immediately refer to states. Ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to. The government used the similarly repressive 2009 anti terrorism proclamation s broad provisions as the basis to arrest, detain, and prosecute scores of journalists and political opposition. The proclamation was adopted on 7 july 2009 and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia official gazette 15th year no. The law gives leeway to criminalize innocent acts of individuals who are critical of government policies. Federal attorneygeneral birhanu tsegaye, deflected questions about possibly removing the anti terrorism law from the books during a press conference held at his office on friday. Unhcr is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. From march 2011 to december 2011 at least 108 opposition party members and six journalists were arrested in ethiopia for alleged involvement with various proscribed terrorist groups.
Obama has expressed keen interest in learning from ethiopia s counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategies. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from unhcrs global network of field. A tool to stifle dissent, authored by lawyers from leading international law firms, provides an indepth and damning analysis of ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation. Analysis of ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation march 9, 2009 summary this paper analyses ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards. Esat news january 18, 2018 ethiopia s ruling party says changes would not be made to the draconian anti terrorism proclamation atp, let alone scrapping the law altogether. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. Mahlet fasil addis abeba, march 62017 as fresh terrorism charges against several individuals surge following the yearlong public protests that led to the current state of emergency, prosecutors in ethiopia have today charged a group of 76 individuals with various articles of ethiopia s infamous anti terrorism proclamation atp. Whereas, terrorism is a danger to the peace, security and development of the country and a serious threat. Some points on the ethiopian anti terrorism law from human rights perspective. Breaking ethiopia charges prominent opposition member. Whereas, the right of the people to live in peace, freedom and security has to be protected, at all times, from the threat of terrorism. This article is the right of thought, opinion and expression. The provisions of this law that impact freedom of expression are discussed in this article.
What influence has ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation got on the right to. The detainees had been charged with crimes under the anti terrorism proclamation and the criminal code. The use of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation to arbitrarily arrest journalists is completely out of step with reforms witnessed in the country, said seif magango, amnesty internationals deputy director for east africa, the horn and the great lakes. This regulation is issued by the council of ministers pursuant to article 34 of the definition of powers and duties of the executive organs of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia proclamation no. Ethiopian anti terrorism law pdf counter terrorism. Definitions in this proclamation, unless the context otherwise requires. The law was developed to fill the gaps in the previous anti terrorism proclamation no.
Part one general part two terrorism and related crimes part three preventive and investigative measures part four evidentiary and procedural rules part five measures to control terrorist organizations and property part six institutions that. Antiterrorism proclamation could be rescinded capital. Whereas, terrorism is a danger to the peace, security and development of the country and a serious threat to the peace and security of the world at large. According to the government, the new law was drafted by the federal attorneygeneral office of ethiopia to protect the peace and security of the people and the government from the threats of terrorism. This paper analyses ethiopia s draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights. The ethiopian constitution states that all persons have basic human rights including.
It analyses the level of compliance with the financial. Freedom of expression and the ethiopian antiterrorism. How much do you know about misuse of ethiopias anti. Proclamation on anti terrorism, published in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal republic of ethiopia on 28 august 2009 proclamation against international standards on freedom of expression. Article 19 comments on anti terrorism proclamation article 19 today issues its analysis of the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation 2009 and calls for the government to fully recognise the right to freedom of expression under international and regional human rights law. Terrorism by anti terrorism law lately, meles zenawi, the dictator in ethiopia, has been rounding up dissidents, journalists, opposition party political leaders and members under a diktat known as antiterrorism proclamation no. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism law human. The provisions of ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation can be broadly grouped under the following categories. Whereas, money laundering and the financing of terrorism as it not only threaten security, but also compromise the stability, transparency, soundness and efficiency of the financial system. Antimoney laundering and combating the financing of.
Prosecutors have today charged 22 individuals, including prominent opposition member bekele gerba pictured, first secretary general of the opposition oromo federalist congress ofc, with various articles of ethiopia s much criticized anti terrorism proclamation atp. On december 21 the ethiopian federal high court convicted two swedish journalists on charges of support to. The proclamation has been used by the regime to charge and imprison opposition party members, journalists and dissidents who criticise the regime or exercise their. It was also noted that the revised bill would enable to bridge the gaps in the preceding anti terrorism proclamation no. An examination of ethiopias anti terrorism proclamation. This diktat approved on a 28691 vote of the rubberstamp parliament is so arbitrary and. They say, you must have been involved in something that got you suspected of terrorism. Whereas, money laundering and financing of terrorism not only threaten security but also compromise the stability, transparency soundness and efficiency of the financial system. The impact of ethiopia s antiterrorism law on freedom of expression conference paper pdf available in ssrn electronic journal may 2017 with 4,203 reads how we measure reads. Ethiopian anti terrorism law pdf free download as pdf file. The anti terrorism proclamation of ethiopia has a farreaching effect on human rights, such as freedom of expression. Ethiopia approves new antiterrorism law consisting of.
This report provides a summary of the anti money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism amlcft measures in place in the federal democratic republic of ethiopia as of the date of the onsite visit from april 7 17, 2014. Open request on ethiopia antiterrorism law, proclamation. Ethiopia financial action task force on money laundering. Leader, and a fifth person under an antiterrorism law. In the wake of the 11 september 2001 attacks in the united states u. On wednesday 17 july 20, members of the european parliaments subcommittee on human rights visited ethiopia and urged the government to release journalists and opposition activists imprisoned under the countrys anti terrorism proclamation no. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation.
The law would help ethiopia to avert and control terrorism, defend the country from threats of terrorism on the top of sustaining peace and security. It criminalizes indirect encouragement to the preparation, instigation and. Instead, yonatan tesfaye, a former spokesman of the semayawi blue party, was detained in december 2015 on charges under article 4 of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation. Introduction country overview the federal democratic republic of ethiopia ethiopia is located in the horn of africa and shares borders with eritrea, djibouti, somalia, sudan, south sudan, and kenya. According to an office publication removing the nations most controversial proclamation, placing a more watered down version in the regular criminal code and amending the law are all under consideration. Ethiopia s highly controversial anti terrorism law, proclamation no. The australian anti terrorism law, one of the legislation said to have been used as a basis for the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. The report examines how the law, enacted in 2009, is a tool of repression, designed and used by the ethiopian government to silence its critics.
Terrorism proclamation antiterror law have severely undermined civil society and. The identity of those suspected for terrorism and arrested based on the law also gave this institutions a reason to take ethiopia a regular destination for their condemnations. By framing the adoption and execution of the eatp as an outcome of eprdfs longterm hegemonic project coalesced in. Ethiopian anti terrorism law, financing of terrorism, money laundering, terrorism. Amnesty international, human rights watch, committee to protect journalists cpj, all have openly criticized ethiopia for adopting the anti terrorism proclamation. Open request on ethiopia antiterrorism law, proclamation 6522009 united nations secretary general, his excellency ban kimoon prime minster of ethiopia, au chair person his excellency hilemariam desalgne president of ethiopia, his excellency girma woldegiorgis african union commissioner chairperson, his excellency dr nkosazana dlamini zuma. This proclamation may be cited as the anti terrorism proclamation no.
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