At
the end of June, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of
Regional Human Rights Impact, Deprose Muchena, announced that he will
leave the organization after 11 years. He reflects on the human
rights situation in Ethiopia.
When
I joined the Amnesty movement to lead its team serving an important
sub region of the Africa continent , first as the first Regional
director for Southern Africa, then as Regional Director for East and
Southern Africa, one of my responsibilities was to connect the
organization more closely with the communities we serve and to
integrate our work beyond borders. This was not an easy task, yet, as
a lifelong history student from Zimbabwe, I have always carried the
stories of these countries close to my heart.
One
of those countries, of course, was Ethiopia – a place I grew up
admiring.
Yet,
there was much to learn about the contradictions as to how this
African hero, primarily to those outside, looked to those living
within.
Who
deserves justice – and who gets to decide?
When
I joined Amnesty in 2014, young people in Oromia were just starting
their four-year long protest demanding justice and equity. The new
government that came to power in 2018 as a result of this protest
promised to deliver on demands. Instead, the Abiy Ahmed
administration dashed all hopes.
Two
years later, in 2020, civilians in Ethiopia found themselves in an
armed conflict that was referred to as one of the worst atrocities of
the 21st century – mass killings, mass displacements, sexual
violence, and unmatched polarization.
The
war that began in Tigray exposed not only the dangerous reality in
Ethiopia, it also provoked all of us to ask far-reaching questions
about humanity’s future.
Among
other things, the conflict exposed the divisive role of big tech and
a deeply deteriorating international political community that was
failing to deliver on commitments embodied in the UN Charter.
Despite
the denial of access to northern Ethiopia and the total communication
blackout, my colleagues kept filling my desk with research they
gathered about the atrocities that civilians were enduring. We then
knocked on the doors of the UN and the AU to tell them, “The
people” are going through something that you once said you would
help “save” them from.
African
solutions to African problems
Ethiopian
authorities managed to block access to independent journalists, the
UN-appointed commissioners and the African Commission-appointed
investigators.
Yet,
when Amnesty showed up in advocacy corridors demanding robust
response, Ethiopian diplomats were running a campaign using “African
solutions to African problems” dismissing international pressure to
protect civilians as a foreign-imposed attack.
They
succeeded in drowning out victims’ pleas for justice and
accountability – in the worst way possible.
The
revolving door of impunity
During
the conflict in Northern Ethiopia when we stood in solidarity with
victims of atrocities in one community, we would face the heat from
another.
However,
we chose to be guided only by facts and the law, not only in Ethiopia
but globally, enabling the Amnesty movement to sustain itself over
the past 60 years. We were influenced neither by a person’s
passport nor ethnicity, but by whether they had been protected or
violated.
In
September 2023, Amnesty and others went to the UNHRC and told member
states, again, that civilians were facing further atrocities and
pleaded with them not to look away. Yet, a few told the council not
to worry, as there is now a credible transitional justice process.
This process remains on paper to date, while many are not certain if
it exists even as a narrative.
And,
as feared, the door revolved and another war broke out in the Amhara
region.
The
international legal order, which was long challenged for being
dominated by a powerful few, is now failing to deliver the bare
minimum.
At
times like this, I often search my soul for a solution: “What can
we do?”.
Solidarity
is the most valued currency of the oppressed
Magai
Matiop Ngong was 15 years old when he was sentenced to death in South
Sudan. After our members from across the globe campaigned on his
behalf, his sentence was commuted and he was later released.
Working
as a human rights defender can feel like an uphill battle, but what
gave me immense hope was the many people who, like Magai, came to me
and said, “You saved my life.”
And
nothing else enabled that impact to be possible like the solidarity
that exists in Amnesty’s model, transcending race, nationality,
geography, language, and class.
Still,
I believe that no one has more power to stop atrocities and the
culture of impunity than the ordinary Ethiopians.
Communities
must be educated on the need to build a society that says, “No one
is safe until everyone is safe.” For that to happen, we need a free
press and a strong civil society that can represent the population
and engage with those in power.
It
is inconceivable that while speculation of another regional war in
Ethiopia fills the air, Ethiopians are waiting to see if they will
wake up to the sound of gunshots again.
Solidarity
is indeed the most valued currency of the oppressed, and it is
increasingly scarce. It requires leadership, investment, and a
genuine commitment to making difficult decisions. It must leave no
one behind, the greatest question is “How can we return agency to
the people?”
I
remember calling on Sudan to open its doors to Ethiopian refugees who
fled the war since 2020. In 2023, we called on Sudan’s neighbors –
including Ethiopia – to open their borders to Sudanese seeking
shelter from another devastating war. We came full circle!
Across
all the imaginary barriers, we must harness genuine solidarity to
build a system that is guided only by the rule of law, with strong,
independent institutions that can enforce it.
An
empowered society that honors justice is possible in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia:
Médecins sans frontières (MSF) releases findings of internal review
into 2021 Tigray killing of three staff members.
The review
confirmed that the attack was an intentional and targeted killing of
three clearly identified aid workers.
Four years
on since the brutal killing of our colleagues in Tigray, Ethiopia,
MSF is releasing the findings of our own internal review.
Our
findings show that the attack on María Hernández Matas, Tedros
Gebremariam Gebremichael, and Yohannes Halefom Reda, was the
intentional and targeted killing of clearly identified aid workers.
MSF has
requested a formal and transparent investigation be carried out by
the Ethiopian authorities many times since their killing in June
2021.
Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) has published the findings of an internal review
into the brutal killing of three of our staff members — María
Hernández Matas, Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael, and Yohannes
Halefom Reda — in central Tigray, Ethiopia, on 24 June 2021.
The review
confirmed that the attack was an intentional and targeted killing of
three clearly identified aid workers. It also established that a
convoy of Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) was present at the
time of the incident, on the same road where the MSF personnel were
killed.
María, Tedros,
and Yohannes were working with MSF to provide medical care in the
conflict-affected region of Tigray. On 24 June 2021, they were
travelling in a clearly marked MSF vehicle to a village near Abi Adi
town in central Tigray to refer patients who had been wounded in
recent fighting. During their journey, their vehicle was intercepted,
and they were killed.
Four years on,
MSF still does not have credible answers about what happened to our
colleagues, despite tireless attempts to engage with both the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Tigray People’s
Liberation Front (TPLF) — both of whose forces were present in the
wider conflict zone.
“Despite
repeated assurances from the Ethiopian authorities that an
investigation was underway, four years on, neither MSF nor the
victims’ families have received any credible answers,” says Paula
Gil, President of MSF Spain. “We can only assume that there is
insufficient political will to share the findings of a completed
investigation.”
“In the
absence of any official account, we have a moral obligation towards
our staff and the families of our late colleagues to make our own
findings public – a necessary step to shed light on a brutal
killing that must not be ignored or buried,” says Gil.
Immediately
after the incident, MSF launched an internal review – our standard
practice following a critical security incident. The evidence
confirmed that the attack on the MSF team was intentional and
targeted. The victims — all wearing white vests clearly marked with
the MSF logo and traveling in a vehicle visibly displaying the MSF
logo and flag — were shot multiple times at close range, while
facing their attacker. Their bodies were found up to 400 metres from
their vehicle, which was burned and riddled with bullets.
“This was not
the result of crossfire, nor was it a tragic mistake. Our colleagues
were killed in what can only be described as a deliberate attack,”
adds Gil.
MSF’s
internal review also clearly established that a large retreating
convoy of the ENDF was moving south on the same stretch of road where
MSF’s staff members were killed on the day of the attack. This was
corroborated by multiple sources available in the public domain,
including media reports and open-source satellite imagery, as well as
several civilian witnesses.
Beyond the
confirmed presence of the ENDF in the area, what remains to be
clarified is the extent and nature of their involvement in the
attack. MSF received concerning witness accounts — including from
civilians travelling with the ENDF convoy in various capacities —
that directly implicated ENDF soldiers in the attack. One witness
reported overhearing a radio exchange where an ENDF commander gave
orders to “shoot” at an approaching white car and “remove
them”.
Since 2021, MSF
has held over 20 high-level meetings with officials in the Ethiopian
government and submitted numerous formal requests for a credible,
transparent investigation to be carried out, and for findings to be
shared.
“Over the
past four years, we have done everything in our power to engage
constructively with the Ethiopian authorities, including sharing the
findings of our internal review on several occasions between November
2021 and October 2023, along with supporting materials, with the
Ministry of Justice,” says Gil.
“MSF’s
review clearly demonstrates that it was — and remains — feasible
to establish the facts about the incident,” says Gil. “Given
this, and the substantiated information confirming ENDF presence at
the time of the attack, it is both unconscionable and unacceptable
that the Ethiopian authorities have consistently failed to conclude a
credible investigation and share its findings.”
MSF is making
this internal review public not only out of moral obligation, but
also to demand that governments protect humanitarian workers and
medical facilities and that those responsible for attacks on
humanitarians and medical staff are held accountable. Attacks on
humanitarian personnel are rising globally, while states increasingly
neglect their duty to investigate and prosecute violations of
international humanitarian law, and the international community
continues to look away.
The brutal
killing of María, Tedros, and Yohannes is an emblematic case of the
dangers faced by humanitarian workers. If there is no investigation
of such an egregious attack, it sets a dangerous precedent in
Ethiopia and reinforces an alarming pattern of impunity for attacks
on healthcare globally.
“María,
Tedros, and Yohannes lost their lives while helping people in
crisis,” says Gil. “They are in our thoughts every day. Their
murder must not be forgotten or met with silence. MSF hopes that by
pursuing the truth of what happened to them, we can contribute to
building a safer environment for humanitarians — not only in
Ethiopia, but in conflict zones around the world.”
