442 Media Human Rights Report

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today called for concrete measures to halt the human rights violations and abuses that continue to endanger reconciliation and peace in Ethiopia. The High Commissioner’s call came as the UN Human Rights Office issued an update analysing the human rights situation across Ethiopia from January 2023 to January 2024.
Violent conflicts, particularly in the Amhara and Oromia regions, led to serious human rights violations and abuses in 2023, the update says.
In 2023, at least 1,351 civilians were killed in Ethiopia in attacks reportedly carried out by Government forces, Eritrean troops, anti-Government militias and some unknown actors. Of the civilians killed, 740 were in Amhara.
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles by Government forces resulted in 248 civilian deaths between 4 August and 31 December 2023, and destroyed vital infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, raising concerns about the extent of compliance of these strikes with international law.
The update also details an attack on 29 January 2024, in which at least 89 civilians were killed, reportedly by government troops, in Merawi town near Bahir Dar, the regional capital of Amhara.
Overall, the update records 594 incidents of human rights violations and abuses affecting 8,253 victims – a 56 per cent increase compared with 2022. According to the update, State actors were reportedly responsible for some 70 per cent of the violations, while non-State actors accounted for some 22 per cent.