Human Rights - Abiy’s illusion of progress!
Posted: 11 Dec 2025, 07:53
New report says Ethiopia’s democratic gains replaced by “Illusion of Progress,” accuses government of systematic crackdown
December 10, 2025
Addis Abeba — Two major international human rights organizations have accused the Ethiopian government of replacing early political reforms with a coordinated campaign to suppress civic space and silence human rights defenders, warning that the country’s democratic opening has devolved into what they describe as an “illusion of progress.”
The report, “The Illusion of Progress: Ethiopia’s Human Rights Defenders Under Attack”, was released in December 2025 by The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint initiative of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). Drawing on interviews and questionnaires with 42 individuals—including domestic and exiled human rights defenders, former civil society leaders, and staff from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC)—the report alleges a steep deterioration in civic space since 2020.
According to the findings, Ethiopia initially experienced meaningful reforms after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in April 2018, including the release of political prisoners, the closure of the notorious Maekelawi detention center, and the repeal of restrictive laws such as the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. These steps were followed by new legislation on civil society (2019), counter-terrorism (2020), and media (2021).
However, the report argues that these advances were “short-lived, insufficient and insincere.” It accuses the government of adopting a discretionary “pick-and-choose” approach to its human rights commitments, resulting in selective compliance with international standards. Civil society organizations and human rights defenders, the report contends, have been increasingly targeted precisely because of their role in scrutinizing state power.
According to the report, 2020 marked a decisive turning point. It cites the consolidation of the Prosperity Party, the unrest that followed the assassination of Oromo artist Hachalu Hundessa, and the outbreak of war in Tigray as events that triggered a “sharp crackdown on civic space,” reversing earlier gains and reflecting what the groups describe as a growing intolerance for dissent.
The report alleges that CSOs and HRDs have faced increasing restrictions, including harassment, threats, attacks, and forced exile. It claims the government does not tolerate peaceful demonstrations unless organized in its favor, and that excessive force has frequently resulted in deaths.
It presents this tightening of civic space as deliberate government policy rather than incidental abuse. As evidence, it cites a 2022 meeting where a government minister allegedly told CSOs: “If you don’t have the morale to support us… keep quiet… If there is any CSO that says, ‘the survival of the country is none of my business,’ its permit should be revoked.”
It also references Prime Minister Abiy’s July 4, 2024 remarks to Parliament, where he reportedly said: “Institutions that claim themselves to be ‘human rights bodies’ are not serving human rights but political motives.”
According to the report, the government has increasingly relied on states of emergency (SOEs) since 2020—initially to address the COVID-19 pandemic and later armed conflicts. While SOEs are permitted under the constitution, the report claims the measures “consistently went far beyond what is strictly necessary,” enabling bans on assemblies, censorship, and warrantless arrests.
It alleges these powers have been used not only against armed actors but also against critics, journalists, and activists, citing targeted arrests of individuals of Tigrayan origin during the 2021–2022 SOE and of Amhara origin during the 2023–2024 SOE.
The report concludes that SOEs have become entrenched as governance tools that “disproportionately target HRDs and erode fundamental freedoms.”
The report claims arbitrary arrests of HRDs are “alarmingly common,” often carried out by masked individuals in operations resembling abductions. Detainees are frequently held incommunicado, denied court appearances within the mandated 48 hours, and in some cases kept in custody even after being granted bail.
Citing Ethiopian Press Freedom Defenders (EPFD), the report records 244 arrests involving 201 journalists and media workers between 2019 and 2024, with peaks in 2020 and 2021. A decline in 2024, it argues, does not reflect improved conditions but rather prolonged detention of critics, altered behavior due to fear, and a wave of forced exile.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 54 Ethiopian journalists have fled the country since 2020. The EHRC has also documented that detentions are “mostly carried out incommunicado and outside regular detention centres.”
The report alleges pervasive surveillance and digital targeting of HRDs, including hacking, office break-ins, and monitoring of communications. It cites a statement by HRD and blogger Befekadu Hailu, former director of CARD, who said the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) has focused on “spying on and hacking the activities of human rights organisations and HRDs.”
The report claims torture and enforced disappearances have re-emerged, particularly in unofficial detention sites. It highlights the Awash Arba military camp—described by interviewees as “the desert Guantanamo”—as the primary site where detainees arrested under SOEs are allegedly held.
Testimonies describe beatings, mock executions, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme heat, denial of food, water, and medical care, and even exposure to wild animals.
The EHRC documented 200 cases of enforced disappearances between 2022 and 2024, including journalists, activists, and prominent community figures.
It also references the killings of 16 Karayu Gadaa leaders (1 December 2021) and the assassinations of journalists Dawit Kebede Araya, Sisay Fida, and Oromo rights activist Bate Urgessa. According to the report, investigations into these killings are often blocked, and in Bate’s case, the EHRC was “warned against investigating.”
Since 2020, the report alleges, the government has increasingly targeted human rights organizations. Following Prime Minister Abiy’s 2024 remarks, the Agency for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) suspended several major CSOs—CARD, AHRE, LHR, EHRCO, and EHRDC—on charges of lacking neutrality or acting against national interests. Though suspensions were lifted in March 2025, interviewees claim the government replaced them with heavy oversight.
One interviewee said they were required to “report every single activity in advance,” limiting their work to “safe activities” rather than independent human rights investigations. Another alleged ACSO pressured CSOs to change their leadership.
The report also highlights legislative developments that it says threaten to return Ethiopia to a pre-2018 environment. An amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Law in June 2025 reportedly granted blanket immunity to undercover agents for crimes committed “beyond their control,” except homicide—raising concerns about unchecked abuse.
Most significantly, a new draft proclamation amending the 2019 CSO law is said to drastically roll back reforms. The draft reportedly reduces independent board representation, expands government appointment powers, introduces vague grounds for deregistration, restricts foreign funding for advocacy and election-related work, requires CSOs to renew registration every four years, and removes key judicial appeal rights.
The report argues the draft “marks a reversion to the ethos of the 2009 law,” which had been widely condemned for stifling civic space.
The Ethiopian government has not yet responded publicly to the allegations outlined in the report.
https://addisstandard.com/new-report-sa ... own/?amp=1
December 10, 2025
Addis Abeba — Two major international human rights organizations have accused the Ethiopian government of replacing early political reforms with a coordinated campaign to suppress civic space and silence human rights defenders, warning that the country’s democratic opening has devolved into what they describe as an “illusion of progress.”
The report, “The Illusion of Progress: Ethiopia’s Human Rights Defenders Under Attack”, was released in December 2025 by The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint initiative of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). Drawing on interviews and questionnaires with 42 individuals—including domestic and exiled human rights defenders, former civil society leaders, and staff from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC)—the report alleges a steep deterioration in civic space since 2020.
According to the findings, Ethiopia initially experienced meaningful reforms after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in April 2018, including the release of political prisoners, the closure of the notorious Maekelawi detention center, and the repeal of restrictive laws such as the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. These steps were followed by new legislation on civil society (2019), counter-terrorism (2020), and media (2021).
However, the report argues that these advances were “short-lived, insufficient and insincere.” It accuses the government of adopting a discretionary “pick-and-choose” approach to its human rights commitments, resulting in selective compliance with international standards. Civil society organizations and human rights defenders, the report contends, have been increasingly targeted precisely because of their role in scrutinizing state power.
According to the report, 2020 marked a decisive turning point. It cites the consolidation of the Prosperity Party, the unrest that followed the assassination of Oromo artist Hachalu Hundessa, and the outbreak of war in Tigray as events that triggered a “sharp crackdown on civic space,” reversing earlier gains and reflecting what the groups describe as a growing intolerance for dissent.
The report alleges that CSOs and HRDs have faced increasing restrictions, including harassment, threats, attacks, and forced exile. It claims the government does not tolerate peaceful demonstrations unless organized in its favor, and that excessive force has frequently resulted in deaths.
It presents this tightening of civic space as deliberate government policy rather than incidental abuse. As evidence, it cites a 2022 meeting where a government minister allegedly told CSOs: “If you don’t have the morale to support us… keep quiet… If there is any CSO that says, ‘the survival of the country is none of my business,’ its permit should be revoked.”
It also references Prime Minister Abiy’s July 4, 2024 remarks to Parliament, where he reportedly said: “Institutions that claim themselves to be ‘human rights bodies’ are not serving human rights but political motives.”
According to the report, the government has increasingly relied on states of emergency (SOEs) since 2020—initially to address the COVID-19 pandemic and later armed conflicts. While SOEs are permitted under the constitution, the report claims the measures “consistently went far beyond what is strictly necessary,” enabling bans on assemblies, censorship, and warrantless arrests.
It alleges these powers have been used not only against armed actors but also against critics, journalists, and activists, citing targeted arrests of individuals of Tigrayan origin during the 2021–2022 SOE and of Amhara origin during the 2023–2024 SOE.
The report concludes that SOEs have become entrenched as governance tools that “disproportionately target HRDs and erode fundamental freedoms.”
The report claims arbitrary arrests of HRDs are “alarmingly common,” often carried out by masked individuals in operations resembling abductions. Detainees are frequently held incommunicado, denied court appearances within the mandated 48 hours, and in some cases kept in custody even after being granted bail.
Citing Ethiopian Press Freedom Defenders (EPFD), the report records 244 arrests involving 201 journalists and media workers between 2019 and 2024, with peaks in 2020 and 2021. A decline in 2024, it argues, does not reflect improved conditions but rather prolonged detention of critics, altered behavior due to fear, and a wave of forced exile.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 54 Ethiopian journalists have fled the country since 2020. The EHRC has also documented that detentions are “mostly carried out incommunicado and outside regular detention centres.”
The report alleges pervasive surveillance and digital targeting of HRDs, including hacking, office break-ins, and monitoring of communications. It cites a statement by HRD and blogger Befekadu Hailu, former director of CARD, who said the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) has focused on “spying on and hacking the activities of human rights organisations and HRDs.”
The report claims torture and enforced disappearances have re-emerged, particularly in unofficial detention sites. It highlights the Awash Arba military camp—described by interviewees as “the desert Guantanamo”—as the primary site where detainees arrested under SOEs are allegedly held.
Testimonies describe beatings, mock executions, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme heat, denial of food, water, and medical care, and even exposure to wild animals.
The EHRC documented 200 cases of enforced disappearances between 2022 and 2024, including journalists, activists, and prominent community figures.
It also references the killings of 16 Karayu Gadaa leaders (1 December 2021) and the assassinations of journalists Dawit Kebede Araya, Sisay Fida, and Oromo rights activist Bate Urgessa. According to the report, investigations into these killings are often blocked, and in Bate’s case, the EHRC was “warned against investigating.”
Since 2020, the report alleges, the government has increasingly targeted human rights organizations. Following Prime Minister Abiy’s 2024 remarks, the Agency for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) suspended several major CSOs—CARD, AHRE, LHR, EHRCO, and EHRDC—on charges of lacking neutrality or acting against national interests. Though suspensions were lifted in March 2025, interviewees claim the government replaced them with heavy oversight.
One interviewee said they were required to “report every single activity in advance,” limiting their work to “safe activities” rather than independent human rights investigations. Another alleged ACSO pressured CSOs to change their leadership.
The report also highlights legislative developments that it says threaten to return Ethiopia to a pre-2018 environment. An amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Law in June 2025 reportedly granted blanket immunity to undercover agents for crimes committed “beyond their control,” except homicide—raising concerns about unchecked abuse.
Most significantly, a new draft proclamation amending the 2019 CSO law is said to drastically roll back reforms. The draft reportedly reduces independent board representation, expands government appointment powers, introduces vague grounds for deregistration, restricts foreign funding for advocacy and election-related work, requires CSOs to renew registration every four years, and removes key judicial appeal rights.
The report argues the draft “marks a reversion to the ethos of the 2009 law,” which had been widely condemned for stifling civic space.
The Ethiopian government has not yet responded publicly to the allegations outlined in the report.
https://addisstandard.com/new-report-sa ... own/?amp=1