In October, Ethiopia's government introduced a draft amendment to Media Proclamation No. 1238-2021, currently under review by the Standing Committee on Democracy Affairs. The proposed changes would place the Media Authority under the direct control of the Prime Minister's Office, removing key safeguards such as parliamentary oversight in appointing the Director General of the Authority. It also eliminates transparency requirements for nominating board members and safeguards related to political independence. At the same time, it grants significant powers, including licensing and disciplinary actions, directly to the Authority. Civil society groups have warned that these amendments concentrate power and expose the regulatory body to political influence. The bill will now undergo further discussions and consultations before lawmakers decide whether to ratify it.

Sources: Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 1238/2021, The Reporter, Addis Standard, African Press Agency, Human Rights Watch

On 8 July, the Ethiopia’s Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ASCO) announced the closure of at least 1,504 civil society organisations (CSOs), citing non-compliance with annual reporting requirements. CSOs are reportedly struggling to meet ASCO reporting requirements due to underfunding and a lack of administrative capacity. According to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an NGO, the closures have created a climate of fear, isolation and stigmatization within Ethiopian civil society. It described the closures as ‘unprecedented’ and noted that it was part of a broader and ongoing crackdown on civic space, human rights organisations and independent media.

Sources: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), The Reporter, Human Rights Watch  

On 22 April, the UN reported that over 50,000 people had been displaced by armed clashes in northern Ethiopia, including the districts of Raya Alamata, Zata and Ofla. The report described the humanitarian situation of the displaced as ‘dire…with thousands of women and children in need of broad humanitarian support to survive.’ Media outlets were not able to identify the fighters but reported them as being from the rival Tigray and Amhara provinces. Since the end of the Tigray War in 2022, tensions between Tigrayans and Amhara in the area have been heightened by an unresolved territorial dispute over Raya Alamata, which both provinces claim.

Sources: United Nations, Addis Standard, The Africa Report (1), British Broadcasting Corporation, The Africa Report (2)

In April, a prominent politician from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) was shot dead and his body found by the side of a road, in what some have alleged was an extrajudicial killing by government security forces. Bate Urgessa, a senior political officer within the OLF, one of Ethiopia’s largest political parties, was an outspoken critic of the Ethiopian government and had been imprisoned on numerous occasions. In February, he had been detained for conspiring to incite unrest after being interviewed by a French journalist. Extra-judicial killings are common in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, where they are reported to have been carried out by government security forces and the separatist rebels, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), in their long running conflict. The OLF, OLA and Urgessa’s family have all suggested military involvement in his death, with the latter alleging that people who looked like government security forces had abducted him from his hotel room the morning before his body was found. Oromia’s regional government denied the charge, but condemned the killing and promised an investigation into it. On 12 April, it was reported that 13 unnamed suspects had been arrested.         

Sources: Addis Standard, The Africa Report, British Broadcasting Corporation, Associated Press, Reuters, Human Rights Watch 

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported on 13 February that at least 45 civilians had been killed in Merawi, Amhara in late January. The EHRC stated that they had been killed by government security services who suspected them of supporting or being members of the Fano militia group. Other reports suggest the number of people killed may be as high as 80. An Ethiopian government spokesman denied the reports, asserting that civilians would never be targeted. Elsewhere in Amhara in February, at least 15 civilians were killed when the truck in which they were travelling was hit by an airstrike, likely launched from a drone. At the beginning of February, the lower chamber of the national legislature (House of People’s Representatives) extended the State of Emergency in Amhara (which began in August 2023) for an additional four months.

Sources: Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Al Jazeera, British Broadcasting Corporation, Associated Press, Reuters