House - 04/10/2018 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. (All Actions)
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[actionDate] => 2017-02-15
[displayText] => Introduced in House
[externalActionCode] => 1000
[description] => Introduced
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Agreed to in House
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[actionDate] => 2018-04-10
[displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H3069-3070)
[externalActionCode] => 8000
[description] => Agreed to in House
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Shown Here: Introduced in House (02/15/2017)
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 128 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 128
Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive
governance in Ethiopia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 15, 2017
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. Bass, Mr. Coffman, Ms. Kelly
of Illinois, Mr. Veasey, and Mr. Ellison) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive
governance in Ethiopia.
Whereas the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has been an ally of the
United States and a partner in the War on Terrorism, as well as a
contributor to international peacekeeping;
Whereas the first pillar of the United States Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan
Africa, announced in 2012, is to strengthen democratic institutions, and
the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Strategy of the United
States Agency for International Development states that ``strong
democratic institutions, respect for human rights, and participatory,
accountable governance are crucial elements for improving people's lives
in a sustainable way'';
Whereas the third pillar of the United States Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa
is to advance peace and security, including supporting security sector
reform;
Whereas democratic space in Ethiopia has steadily diminished since the general
elections of 2005;
Whereas elections were held in 2015 in which the ruling Ethiopian People's
Revolutionary Democratic Front party claimed 100 percent of
parliamentary seats;
Whereas the 2016 Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices
for Ethiopia cited serious human rights violations, including arbitrary
arrests, killings, and torture committed by security forces,
restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association,
politically motivated trials, harassment, and intimidation of opposition
members and journalists;
Whereas the Ethiopian Human Rights Council reported 102 deaths by April 2016 and
Human Rights Watch subsequently reported that the Ethiopian security
forces had killed between 500 and 800 peaceful protestors in the Oromia
and Amhara regions by November 2016, and the number is likely higher;
Whereas state-sponsored violence against those exercising their rights to
peaceful assembly, in Oromia and elsewhere in the country, and the abuse
of laws to stifle journalistic freedoms stand in direct contrast to
democratic principles and violate the constitution of Ethiopia;
Whereas since protests started in Oromia in 2015, the Ethiopian government has
charged more than 150 students, opposition leaders, and activists at the
Federal High Court under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP) and
repeatedly has abused such law to limit the freedom of the press,
silence independent journalists, and persecute members of the political
opposition, including by--
(1) charging 20 university students in March 2016 under the criminal
code for protesting in front of the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa,
based only on a video of their protest and a list of demands;
(2) arresting Merera Gudina, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress
in December 2016 to be investigated under the ATP after he held meetings
with European Union officials in Brussels;
(3) charging Yonatan Tesfaye Regassa, the former head of public
relations for the opposition Semayawi Party (the Blue Party), with
``planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt'' of a
terrorist act, citing Facebook posts by Regassa about the protests as
evidence; and
(4) arresting Getachew Shiferaw (the editor-in-chief of the online
newspaper ``Negere Ethiopia''), Fikadu Mirkana, (a news editor and reporter
with the public ``Oromia Radio and TV''), and blogger Zelalem Workagenehu
(with an independent diaspora blog) under charges of conspiring to
overthrow the government and supporting terrorism under the ATP;
Whereas, on April 25, 2016, the Federal High Court sentenced the former governor
of the Gambella region, Okello Akway Ochalla, to nine years
imprisonment, and the trial of Ochalla and his co-defendants was marred
by violations of fair trial guarantees and included the use of witness
testimonies in exchange for non-prosecution under the ATP;
Whereas in August 2015, eighteen Ethiopian Muslim leaders received prison
sentences ranging from seven to 22 years in prison for peacefully
protesting against government interference in the religious affairs of
the Islamic community, some of whom were later pardoned;
Whereas criminal courts in Ethiopia are weak, overburdened, subject to political
influence, accept the use of forced confessions, and allow detainees to
be held for months without charge;
Whereas serious concerns have been raised regarding prison conditions in
Ethiopia, including overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of access to
potable water, excessive use of solitary confinement, the use of rape
and torture, withholding access to medical treatment, and denial of
access to proper legal counsel or to visitors;
Whereas laws such as the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation have been
used to restrict the operation of civil society organizations in
Ethiopia, especially those investigating alleged violations of human
rights by governmental authorities;
Whereas in June 2016, the Government of Ethiopia announced that it closed down
more than 200 nongovernmental organizations within a nine-month period
from 2015 to 2016 for failing to comply with the restrictive provisions
of the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation;
Whereas the development strategy of the Government of Ethiopia has targeted the
relocation of more than 1,500,000 people, including indigenous Anuaks in
the Gambella region, from their ancestral lands for large-scale land
development under the ``villagization'' program;
Whereas the case of the ``Zone 9 Bloggers'', whose arrest, detention, and trials
on terrorism charges brought international attention to the restrictions
on the freedom of the press in Ethiopia, is indicative of the coercive
environment in which Ethiopian journalists operate;
Whereas, on October 9, 2016, the Government of Ethiopia imposed a far-reaching,
six-month state of emergency that restricts a broad range of actions,
including blocking mobile Internet access and social media
communication, undermining freedoms of association, expression, and
peaceful assembly, which led to the arrest of over 22,000 persons
according to Ethiopian Government accounts, and codifying such tactics
as arbitrary detention;
Whereas serious abuses have been and continue to be committed in the Somali
regional state by federal and regional security forces, some of which
may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity;
Whereas there has been no credible independent investigation into any of the
abuses mentioned herein and no indication that anyone has been held to
account for these abuses; and
Whereas during President Barack Obama's historic visit to Addis Ababa in July
2015, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn expressed the commitment of
his government to deepen the democratic process and work towards
improving governance and respect for human rights, and noted the need to
step up efforts to strengthen institutions: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns--
(A) the killing of peaceful protesters and
excessive use of force by Ethiopian security forces;
(B) the arrest and detention of journalists,
students, activists, and political leaders who exercise
their constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and
expression through peaceful protests; and
(C) the abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to
stifle political and civil dissent and journalistic
freedoms;
(2) urges protesters in Ethiopia to refrain from violence
and to refrain from encouragement or acceptance of violence in
demonstrations;
(3) urges all armed factions to cease their conflict with
the Government of Ethiopia and engage in peaceful negotiations
directly and through international intermediaries;
(4) calls on the Government of Ethiopia to--
(A) lift the state of emergency;
(B) end the use of excessive force by security
forces;
(C) conduct a full, credible, and transparent
investigation into the killings and instances of
excessive use of force that took place as a result of
protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions and hold
security forces accountable for wrongdoing through
public proceedings;
(D) release dissidents, activists, and journalists
who have been imprisoned, including those arrested for
reporting about the protests, for exercising
constitutional rights;
(E) respect the right to freedom of peaceful
assembly and guarantee the freedom of the press and
mass media, in keeping with Articles 30 and 29 of the
Ethiopian constitution;
(F) engage in open and transparent consultations
with citizens regarding its development strategy,
especially those strategies that could result in the
displacement of people from their land;
(G) allow a rapporteur appointed by the United
Nations to conduct an independent examination of the
state of human rights in Ethiopia;
(H) address the grievances brought forward by
representatives of registered opposition parties;
(I) hold accountable those responsible for killing,
torturing, and detaining innocent civilians who
exercised their constitutional rights;
(J) repeal proclamations that--
(i) can be used as a political tool to
harass or prohibit funding for civil society
organizations that investigate human rights
violations, engage in peaceful political
dissent, or advocate for greater political
freedoms;
(ii) prohibit or otherwise limit those
displaced from their land from seeking remedy
or redress in courts, or do not provide a
transparent, accessible means to access justice
for those so displaced;
(iii) allow for the arrest and detention of
peaceful protesters and political opponents who
legally exercise their rights to freedom of
expression and association; and
(iv) prohibit or otherwise limit peaceful
nonprofit operations in Ethiopia; and
(K) investigate the circumstances surrounding the
September 3, 2016, shootings and fire at Qilinto
Prison, the deaths of persons in attendance at the
annual Irreecha festivities at Lake Hora near Bishoftu
on October 2, 2016, and the ongoing killings of
civilians over several years in the Somali Regional
State by federal and regional police, and publically
release a report on such investigations in an expedient
manner;
(5) calls on the Secretary of State to conduct a review of
security assistance to Ethiopia in light of recent developments
and to improve transparency with respect to the purposes of
such assistance to the people of Ethiopia;
(6) calls on the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development to immediately lead efforts to
develop a comprehensive strategy to support improved democracy
and governance in Ethiopia;
(7) calls on the Secretary of State, in conjunction with
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, to improve oversight and accountability of United
States assistance to Ethiopia, pursuant to the expectations
established in the United States Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan
Africa;
(8) calls on the Secretary of State, in cooperation with
the Secretary of the Treasury, to apply appropriate sanctions
on foreign persons or entities responsible for extrajudicial
killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights committed against any nationals in
Ethiopia as provided for in the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act; and
(9) stands by the people of Ethiopia and supports their
peaceful efforts to increase democratic space and to exercise
the rights guaranteed by the Ethiopian constitution.
<all>
