Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1988
ETHIOPIA
.
The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) is a
one-party state with a Soviet-style Constitution. President
Mengistu Hai le-Mariam' s dominant position remains
unchallenged: he is Chief of State, Commander-in-Chief of the
armed forces, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of
Ethiopia (WPE) . The Marxist-Leninist WPE, established in
1984, is the sole political party and the most powerful
institution in the PDRE. The two meetings of the newly
elected Shengo (Parliament) confirmed that its role was
largely confined to rubber stamping provisions adopted months
earlier by the 23-member Council of State.
Ethiopia deploys the largest standing army in Africa south of
the Sahara, numbering 250,000-300,000 members. It uses this
force primarily to pursue military solutions to the armed
insurgencies of varying intensities directed against the
Government. Although recent military setbacks have encouraged
Ethiopia to seek diplomatic rapprochement with Sudan and
Somalia, Ethiopia continues to offer some support to rebel
movements fighting against its neighbors. Domestically, the
Government has an extensive internal security apparatus which
uses a comprehensive system of surveillance and informers to
maintain its control over the population.
The PDRE remains committed to a centralized, planned economy
based on Socialist principles. Under pressure from the donor
community, the Government agreed to certain minimal changes in
agricultural policy in 1988. The effect of the changes,
especially greater incentives for farmers, on production has
yet to be seen. The economy of the world's poorest country
(according to the World Bank)- currently suffers not only from
drought and famine, but also from continuing ideological
constraints, such as priority of funding for state farms in a
nation of small independent farmers. Success by rebel groups
in the north and declaration of a national emergency have led
to economic disruption as development and other resources (and
an obligatory "donation" of 1 month's salary) are diverted to
the war effort
.
Ethiopia's human rights record remained deplorable in 1988.
The Constitution, which provides a legal basis for respect for
human rights, was hardly adopted before the Government
declared a national state of emergency in Erttrea and Tigre
and voided constitutional protection there. Following rebel
military successes in early 1988, the Government expelled
expatriate relief workers from Eritrea and Tigre and denied
relief distributions to more than a million Ethiopians thought
to be at risk of starvation in areas of the country contested
by the rebels. Both the Government and insurgent groups
exchanged charges of atrocities committed against civilians.
The resettlement program, which resumed in a "voluntary"
fashion in late 1987, attracted renewed criticism in 1988--and
was again put on hold--after an incident at Korem in which
peasants resisting resettlement were shot. Regional
instabilities led to dramatic increases in refugee influxes
from Sudan and Somalia. The PDRE ' s intransigence on granting
regular unrestricted access to the refugees hindered
international humanitarian assistance to them. On the
positive side, the Government released 7 members of the former
royal family, released some 25 persons imprisoned for
assisting the emigration of Ethiopian Jews, and exchanged
prisoners of war from the 1977-78 war with Somalia.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political Killing
In 1988 the northern military situation was the major
influence on the human rights situation in Ethiopia. The
intensification of fighting between the Government and
opposition groups in Tigre and Eritrea has led to increased
claims on both sides of human rights abuses. There have been
charges, some substantiated, of indiscriminate bombing by
Ethiopian government forces of civilian targets. There have
also been reports, on both sides, of executions of young males
who have tried to avoid military service. Furthermore, up to
100 civilians may have been massacred by the Eritrean People's
Liberation Front (EPLF) for attempting to prevent the military
recruitment of young Afar tribesmen. The Government has
charged the rebels with selected acts of terrorism against
government facilities and officials in various northern
cities. Because of the lack of access to the north by the
international community, most other charges of abuse cannot be
confirmed. Rebels accuse the Government of employing napalm
and charge that massacres of hundreds of civilians occurred at
El Sheib in May and at Hauzien in June.
b. Disappearance
There have been no confirmed reports of disappearances since
the installation of the PDRE in September 1987. Rebel groups
claim that disappearances attributable to the Ethiopian
military are common in the northern conflict areas, but these
claims cannot be confirmed.
The well-publicized disappearance in May 1986 of the Ethiopian
Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador
to Canada, Berhanu Dinka, remained unresolved despite pressure
by many Western governments for information concerning his
whereabouts. No charges were known to have been filed
against him, but there were unconfirmed reports that he was
transferred in July 1987 from the "third police station" (an
Addis Ababa torture and interrogation center) to the so-called
Gebi Prison in the basement of the Menelik Palace.
Guerrilla groups in the north have kidnaped relief workers
operating in conflict areas. Two Italian contractors working
at a village settlement scheme, kidnaped by the Ethiopian
Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP) in November 1987, were
released in May 1988; another Italian technician was kidnaped
in June and was released in December. In February Tigre
People's Liberation Front (TPLF) guerrillas kidnaped 6
expatriate relief workers and held them several days before
releasing them. In April the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)
captured 2 Irish aid workers in a resettlement area and held
them several days. It appeared that some of the kidnapings
were in protest of Western donor involvement in resettlement
schemes. The OLF, particularly, has protested the
displacement of the Oromo people, to whose traditional land
the settlers have been moved.
no
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The new Constitution notably omits a passage from the 1955
Constitution prohibiting cruel and inhuman punishment.
Torture has been used against members of most opposition
groups, both those opposed for ideological reasons and those
opposed for a combination of ideological and ethnic/regional
separatist reasons, 'such as the EPLF in Eritrea, the TPLF in
Tigre, and the OLF among the Oromo
.
Political prisoners are initially taken to central
investigation centers operated by the Ministry of Interior,
such as the "third police station" in Addis Ababa or the
Mariam Gimki Center in Asmara. Interrogation is often
combined with physical abuse, especially for those suspected
of affiliation with an opposition or insurgency group. Common
methods of torture included prolonged beating on the soles of
the feet, prolonged suspension from a rope in a contorted
position, death threats, mock executions, sleep deprivation,
and submergence to the point of unconsciousness in tanks of
dirty water. Amnesty International's (AI) 1988 report, which
covers events in 1987, notes that the organization continued
to receive persistent reports of the torture of suspected
government opponents after their arrest.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Despite the PDRE ' s new Constitution providing for arraignment
in court within 48 hours, arrest warrants, a fair trial,
protection against self-incrimination and the right to
counsel, Ethiopians suspected of antigovernment actions or
sentiments continue to be subject to arrest or detention by
the police without charge or judicial review. In politically
sensitive arrests, the Government generally prefers to operate
in secret, taking the suspect from home at night. In most
cases, political detainees are held incommunicado, without
charge and without legal representation, at least initially
and sometimes for the length of their term of incarceration.
The term of confinement for a suspect held without legal
charge is subject to the whim of the detaining official or
agent. Most of the 2,000-3,000 political detainees and
prisoners (as estimated by outside human rights groups) still
have not been formally charged or sentenced. In fact, some
detainees continued to be held without charge 14 years after
their detention. Because of limited information available, no
estimate of the number of persons detained in 1988 can be
made. However, unlike in previous years, there were no
reported instances of prominent Ethiopians being taken into
custody.
Constitutional guarantees have also been curtailed by the
deteriorating security situation in the north, the imposition
of a state of emergency in 2 of the country's 14 provinces (as
allowed in the Constitution), and the PDRE ' s obsession with
internal security very broadly defined. The state of
emergency suspends many rights by granting broad powers to an
Administrator General appointed by the President, by
establishing military courts, and by empowering the security
forces to stop, detain, and hold indefinitely (at any time,
without court or prosecutor's warrant) any person who has
violated or who is suspected of having violated the special
decree or who in any manner disturbs law and order within the
emergency areas.
Ill
Since imposition of the state of emergency in Tigre and
Eritrea, there have been numerous reports alleging the
arbitrary arrest of Eritreans suspected of being rebel
sympathizers, and, often, their incarceration without being
charged. Although lack of access to the north limits
monitoring of these abuses in the emergency areas, there were
confirmed reports of the arbitrary arrest of several Eritreans
in Addis Ababa who remain incarcerated without charge.
There were several credible reports in 1988 of young males
being forcibly conscripted on both the Government and the
rebel side. On the Government side, armed soldiers, kebele
officers, or local militias reportedly rounded up young males
from the streets, from school rooms, and from door-to-door
searches of homes and immediately impressed them into
service. Those who tried to evade conscription allegedly were
shot (see Section l.a.). (Kebeles, urban neighborhood
associations, are the primary units of urban administration.)
On the rebel side, there have been reports that the EPLF
forcibly recruited Afar tribesmen for military service and
killed civilians who attempted to protect the young Afars from
conscription.
The number and treatment of prisoners held by government
forces and rebel groups are unknown. Some reports indicate
that the treatment of PDRE prisoners by some guerilla forces
generally has been good. The Government apparently does not
recognize rebels captured in battle as prisoners of war, but
rather treats them as traitors, either executing or
imprisoning them. The Government considers its own soldiers
captured by insurgent forces as deserters who merit execution,
imprisonment, or immediate reassignment to the war front if
returned. However, the fate of 127 prisoners of war returned
to Ethiopia from Eritrea via Djibouti in October is unknown.
The Government prevents relief organizations from providing
communications between families and the PDRE prisoners in
rebel hands. In 1987 the EPLF allowed the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) limited access to some of
its prisoners, but later, due to strained relations with the
ICRC, the EPLF terminated the program.
There were some positive human rights developments in 1988,
including the release from prison of the 7 remaining female
members of the Ethiopian royal family who had been
incarcerated since 1974 (3 male members remain in detention)
and the release of approximately 25 people arrested in 1987 in
Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, and Gondar for reportedly arranging
the surreptitious emigration of Jews from Ethiopia. The
Ethiopian Attorney General was reported to have begun a prison
census in 1988 to determine which prisoners were being held
without charge or trial in violation of the new constitutional
provisions. Recently, a major diplomatic initiative by the
PDRE to improve its relations with Somalia led to a
reestablishment of diplomatic relations and a negotiated
prisoner exchange through the ICRC for those captured during
the 1977 war between the two countries.
Many Ethiopians remain in exile unable to return to Ethiopia
for fear of persecution. One million Ethiopians reside as
refugees in neighboring countries. With regard to forced or
compulsory labor, see Section 6.c.
e. Denial of a Fair Public Trial
The modern court system has the Supreme Court at the apex and
includes magistrate courts and a Special Court of Appeal. The
loosely controlled military courts established in Tigre and
Eritrea under the state of emergency, which have jurisdiction
over a wide range of activities, operate without regard to
constitutional protections.
There continued to be no real separation between the executive
branch and the judiciary. Courts are subject to political
control and are responsive to the requirements of Ethiopia's
leadership. Law enforcement, centralized in the Public
Security Section of the Ministry of Interior, continued to
bypass judicial procedures in the interest of state security
regardless of constitutional provisions.
In practice, the right to a fair public trial is observed and
respected in civil and criminal cases of a nonpolitical
nature. These cases generally are based upon the submission
of evidence in a public setting. Minor cases are tried at the
kebele level, while more serious criminal accusations are
tried in courts where the accused has access to
court-appointed lawyers. The criminal court system is open to
political manipulations. For example, in one case in 1987, a
high official, arrested for political reasons, was sentenced
to more than 15 years in prison for a minor infraction after a
trial which the judge himself agreed was based solely on
circumstantial evidence.
When the Ministry of Interior allows political trials to take
place, they are almost always held in secret, with only the
verdict (if even that) publicly announced. Prisoners cleared
of charges or whose terms have been completed are not always
promptly released from prison. AI ' s 1988 report notes the
difficulty in obtaining information on political prisoners but
mentions several categories of prisoners, e.g., those held on
suspicion of having links with armed opposition forces (often
based only on ethnic origin) and those attempting to flee the
country, an offense which in special cases can bring the death
penalty.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the "inviolability of the house"
and protects against unlawful entry into private homes. In
reality, as in the past, warrants are not used for searches of
offices or private homes. In Eritrea and Tigre the state of
emergency grants the armed forces great latitude in searching
or even confiscating suspected premises.
Surveillance of persons--both visual or through the use of
listening devices--continues with no legal restraints. All
mail is subject to government monitoring. Ethiopian citizens
can be called in at any time for questioning by authorities
and for mandatory kebele meetings, political rallies, or
marches. Refusal to appear for any of the above may result in
imprisonment without hearing.
Local kebele association officials monitor urban Ethiopians,
whereas peasant association leaders perform the same function
in the countryside. These officials monitor visitors
received, items brought in and out of houses, any meetings,
and adherence to local curfews. The scope of such
surveillance and petty interference in the private lives of
Ethiopian citizens depends heavily on the makeup of the kebele
and its leadership.
Government proclamations designed to enforce Socialist
patterns of work make it illegal for a private farmer to
employ laborers on his farm or to own more than one home.
Such proclamations, however, are apparently ignored in some
remote areas of the country.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
There is no freedom of speech or press in Ethiopia. The
Government closely monitors the pronouncements of public
officials, academics, and clergy. Some instructors and
professors in secondary schools and at the university have
resisted the politicization of education. Academic freedom,
although seriously circumscribed, especially in the political
and social sciences, still finds limited expression at the
university.
The Government owns and operates all information media and
exercises censorship through editorial boards and the Ministry
of Information. Expression of unauthorized political opinions
or of views at variance with the official government line can
result in imprisonment. Political, economic, and social
policies are formulated at top levels of government, then
disseminated and monitored through the government-controlled
media and government-organized citizen groups.
Books and magazines can be confiscated if deemed to contain
sentiments opposed to the regime. Foreign magazines and
newspapers are not readily available since foreign exchange is
not granted to purchase them. Foreign radio broadcasts are
widely listened to by the Ethiopian elite. There is no
evidence of overt attempts by the Government to interfere with
radio reception.
Local journalists are all considered to be government
employees. Foreign journalists often have difficulty in
obtaining visas, and the Government frequently restricts
access to areas outside Addis Ababa, including the areas of
conflict and famine and refugee camps.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Notwithstanding constitutional provisions, assembly of any
sort, not previously approved by the Government, is strictly
forbidden. In the few reported incidents of unauthorized
assemblies, the Government reacted by sending the participants
to rural settlement schemes, or, in the case of students, by
refusing their return to the university. In contrast,
attendance at government-sponsored rallies, meetings and
parades is frequently mandatory and enforced by a wide range
of sanctions. Ethiopians, traditionally cautious in their
associations with one another and with foreigners, have become
even more so under the present regime. Frequent or close
association with foreigners can result in questioning, arrest
and detention. Professional associations, such as the Rotary
and Lions Clubs, are allowed to operate although their
membership and activities presumably are monitored by the
Government. Trade and professional associations were
reorganized in 1986 by the Workers Party of Ethiopia. New
boards were selected for these groups from members approved by
the party.
In October 1987 and early 1988, students at two University of
Addis Ababa campuses demonstrated against living conditions in
the dormitories and the removal of the dean of students.
About 10 students were arrested for their alleged leadership
role in the demonstrations, but they were released a short
time later.
For a discussion of freedom of association as it applies to
labor unions, see Section 6. a.
c. Freedom of Religion
Since April 1988, the PDRE ' s war mobilization has included a
strong appeal to Ethiopian nationalism and traditional values,
including religion, an integral part of the national culture.
Government officials have indicated that religion is now being
factored into aspects of national planning. After the death
of the abuna, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in June
1988, the Prime Minister attended the funeral, which was given
front page coverage in the daily newspaper. The Government
carefully controlled the election of the new abuna apparently
to ensure the election of someone who would be sympathetic to
party policy.
The positive aspect of the Government's new attitude toward
religion is increased respect for freedom of worship and
proselytism for the Orthodox Church and Islam (each claims
about 50 percent of the Ethiopian population) as provided in
the Constitution.
Party members are officially prohibited from worshiping, but
this ban is not enforced. According to press reports, kebele
officials often discourage church attendance, generally by
scheduling mandatory meetings on Sunday mornings. The
Government nationalized most church property when it took
power, and the Orthodox Church reportedly is dependent on
annual government compensation payments to cover clergy
salaries
.
Orthodox and Islamic holidays are recognized by the
Government, and officials of both religions are allowed to
exercise jurisdiction over civil matters such as marriage.
However, the Government expunges reference to any deity from
dialog in television programs and films and forbids such
reference in government statements or publications. The State
continues to monitor religious practice and any teaching which
might be contrary to its political line. The Government also
appoints officials to the Orthodox Church administration to
ensure church conformity with party policies.
Some other religions, particularly foreign Protestant
evangelical organizations, which found their activities
sharply curtailed after the 1974 revolution, have experienced
a general trend of greater tolerance by central and local
government officials over the last 2 years. Local government
officials allowed a number of churches that had been closed to
reopen. In 1986 a number of church officials were released
from detention, including the general secretary of the
Mennonite church (who had been detained since 1981) and
leaders of the Ethiopian evangelical Mekane Yesus church. The
Government issues permits to foreign missionaries to enter and
work in Ethiopia in limited numbers, although ostensibly as
development specialists, not as missionaries. The Jehovah's
Witnesses, however, remain totally banned.
Ethiopia's small Jewish community (the Falashas) live in areas
peripheral to insurgent activity in Tigre and Gondar. Stories
of genocidal actions by Ethiopian authorities or of highly
brutal behavior toward Ethiopian Jews have not been
substantiated by American visitors to these areas. Although
Jews do suffer some economic discrimination (a holdover from
prerevolutionary practices), the PDRE has been increasingly
tolerant of the Falashas. The Government permits development
assistance directed at the Falasha areas, even when such
assistance has included a religious element (i.e.,
construction of synagogues).
Large numbers of Ethiopian Jews have surreptitiously left the
country in recent years. Although the Government has
attempted to block this exodus as part of its overall
antiemigration policy (see Section l.d.), it did release about
25 persons in 1988 who were under arrest for arranging the
illegal emigration of Falashas.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Permission is required for Ethiopian citizens to change their
place of residence, and persons considered politically suspect
can be forbidden to travel outside their home areas. Travel
within Ethiopia has remained restricted particularly in Tigre
and Eritrea. In addition, the state of emergency has closed
off a number of districts in the two provinces to any
civilians; homeowners were given 15 days from the date of
declaration of the state of emergency to evacuate specific
areas with their personal belongings. The state of emergency
decree granted the Administrator Generals of the two provinces
broad powers to move any person or group from one place to
another within the region or outside the region.
Late in 1987, the Government resumed the internal resettlement
program, pledging to carry it out voluntarily and announcing
plans to resettle 300,000 people during the following year.
By April 1988 about 10,000 had been resettled before the
Government's preoccupation with the war effort in the north
led to temporary suspension of the program. Preliminary
reports had indicated that most of those being resettled had
volunteered, had been humanely transported, and had arrived at
well prepared sites. However, about 40 people were killed
or wounded on February 8 at Korem when soldiers fired
indiscriminately on a crowd of several thousand drought
victims after they passively refused a local administrator's
demands that they board trucks for resettlement. When the
international community called for the Ethiopian Government to
investigate the incident of forced resettlement at Korem, the
Government refused, labeling the reports of the incident as
lies
.
The Government's mandatory "villagization" campaign, which
collects scattered rural farmers into newly created villages,
continued in 1988. It is sanctioned under article 10,
subarticle 3 of the Constitution, which states that "the state
shall encourage the scattered rural population to aggregate in
order to change their backward living conditions and to enable
them to lead a better life." According to the Government,
close to 12 million Ethiopians had been moved into such
villages as of July 1, 1988 (31 percent of the rural
population) . The Government has announced plans that call for
50 percent of the rural population to be moved into villages
by 1993.
Peasants cannot avoid participating in the program, and to
date almost everyone living in areas scheduled for
vil lagization has been moved into the new settlements. The
program has proceeded in the Gondar region despite some
scattered antigovernment violence in opposition to the program
early in 1987. The Government has devoted few resources to
this large program. Farmers must dismantle their own houses,
transport them to the government-selected village site, and
reassemble them. Social services such as schools, new roads,
or clinics--though promised--are rare. The Government has
repeatedly stated that this program is a precursor to
collectivization of Ethiopia's agriculture. Despite this
goal, over 90 percent of agriculture is still on an individual
family basis.
The continued conflict in those Ethiopian provinces most
affected by drought and famine has increasingly led both the
Government and the rebels to utilize distribution of relief
aid as a weapon. An October 1987 attack by insurgent forces
on an unarmed and unescorted U.N. famine relief column,
destroyed 23 trucks and 400 tons of wheat. In January EPLF
forces attacked an unarmed and an unescorted commercial
convoy, destroying 17 trucks and 176 tons of food. In April
the Government expelled all expatriate relief workers in Tigre
and Eritrea, disrupting the relief distribution effort in
government-controlled areas and prohibiting food deliveries to
extensive areas of two drought-stricken provinces contested by
insurgent forces. The Government's action thus denied food to
more than a million of the 2 to 3 million Ethiopians
previously being targeted by international relief efforts. In
May United Nations personnel were allowed to reestablish a
limited presence. Later in 1988, additional personnel from
the U.N. and nongovernmental relief organizations were allowed
to monitor relief distribution in some parts of the north.
Travel abroad by Ethiopians is closely controlled by the
Government through the issuance of passports and mandatory
exit visas. Passport applications require a letter of
recommendation from the appropriate kebele head. Foreigners
in Ethiopia have always been required to obtain a travel
permit for internal travel. The Government prohibits all
foreign access to areas of conflict, especially in Tigre. In
mid-1988, the Government often denied requests for permission
of U.S. Embassy personnel to travel in nonconflict areas but
later in 1988 approved all requests.
Emigration is highly restricted, except in special
circumstances such as marriage to or adoption by a foreign
national. Leaving Ethiopia without authorization is a serious
offense punishable by 5 to 15 years' imprisonment or, in
exceptional cases, reportedly by death. Nonetheless,
considerable illegal emigration occurs either under the
subterfuge of travel abroad for business or to visit
relatives, or by arduous treks overland and surreptitious
crossing of borders.
The Government recognizes the right of voluntary repatriation,
and its proclamation of mass amnesty for Ethiopians living
abroad (numbering more than 1 million) remains in effect.
Since December 1986, according to figures provided by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
,
approximately 25,000 Ethiopians spontaneously returned to
Ethiopia from Sudan. In addition, UNHCR repatriation programs
have successfully repatriated 3,591 Ethiopians from Djibouti
since late 1986 and approximately 5,579 Ethiopians from
Somalia during the same period. These official and
spontaneous returnees were aided by the UNHCR. There are no
reports that the returnees were mistreated or discriminated
against upon their return. Also, it is thought, though not
confirmed, that many Ethiopian refugees in northern Somalia
may have returned to Ethiopia in an effort to flee civil
strife.
Instability in neighboring countries has stimulated a largescale
refugee movement into Ethiopia with more than 750,000
entering the country--over 350,000 from Sudan and 400,000 from
Somalia. The Government's limitations on access to refugee
camps by much of the international community have made it
difficult to ensure that the refugees receive relief
assistance and adequate protection under the Geneva
Convention. There have been no reports of the Government
forcibly repatriating refugees. However, the Government has
periodically harrassed Sudanese refugees and "people of
concern" to the UNHCR. For example, in October Ethiopian
security forces detained a Sudanese refugee shortly before his
planned voluntary repatriation to Sudan. He was held several
days before being released and allowed to return to Sudan.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Citizens of Ethiopia are not free to change the Government.
The new Constitution institutionalizes all power in the
Workers Party of Ethiopia (WPE) , the President, his advisors,
and the 23-member Council of State. Political and economic
policies are still dictated to the population with little
opportunity for public debate.
The WPE and its mass organizations purport to offer Ethiopian
citizens a means of participation in government, but their
real role is to ensure adherence to Marxist-Leninist
principles. The WPE, like its Soviet counterpart, is an
exclusive group--not everyone can join. Higher level
government officials are required to join if they wish to keep
their jobs. Kebeles, the primary party/government control
mechanisms at the local level, control housing allocation,
basic food rationing, political indoctrination, and
implementation of other government policies, such as
registration and selection of youths for national military
service.
To give a semblance of democracy to the newly organized
administration, the Government sponsored a referendum in 1987
to approve the new Constitution and an election in the same
year to choose the members of the 835-member National Shengo
(one chamber Parliament) from slates of candidates approved by
the WPE. Until now the Shengo has proved to be little more
than a Government showpiece. It meets only once a year, and
its first session in July included a series of unanimous "yes"
votes and the post facto "adoption" of various measures
previously approved by the Council of State. Shengo elections
are to be held every 5 years.
The new Constitution mandates the formation of local Shengos
in the 25 newly established administrative regions and the 5
autonomous zones. Under the autonomy plan, the Assembly of
the Eritrean autonomous zone is to have the exclusive right to
promulgate and enforce its own laws so long as they do not
conflict with national laws. The Assemblies of the other
autonomous zones (Assab, Tigre, Dire Dawa, and Ogaden) would
require permission from the central Government in order to
formulate their own laws. The Constitution also lists a
number of responsibilities reserved for the regional
assemblies and their executive committees, including the
preparation of social and economic plans and budgets for
approval by the national Shengo. The PDRE hopes the autonomy
plan will serve as a basis for a political solution to the
various internal insurgencies, but its implementation still
has not really begun.
Women are poorly represented at the top echelons of
Government. There are 46 female members in the 835-member
Shengo, and there are no female ministers or members in the
Council of State.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Government resists attempts by international and
nongovernmental organizations to investigate human rights
cases. It did not respond, for example, to Amnesty
International's various inquiries in 1985, such as on the
reported use of torture, or to its more recent appeals to
respect major international human rights agreements. There is
no governmental or private body to investigate alleged human
rights violations. Ethiopia is not a signatory to any of the
United Nations human rights documents or the African Charter
of Human and Peoples' Rights. However, Ethiopia is a newly
selected African representative to the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution provides for the equality of all Ethiopians
irrespective of nationality, sex, religion, occupation, social
or other status. The highest government echelons are no
longer dominated by the Amhara ethnic group but include many
Oromos and a few Eritreans and Tigreans. Almost all senior
government and political figures are of Christian origin,
although the population is approximately 50 percent Muslim.
While the rights of women are protected and promised
additional government support by the Constitution, sex
discrimination persists. Various U.N. studies indicate
Ethiopian women are subject to many disadvantages such as
cultural and traditional biases, marriages imposed at a very
young age, hard and time-consuming labor, inadequate
employment opportunities, and subaverage wages in urban
areas. Village leadership is invariably male, and all clergy
are male. However, women in the principal Ethiopian cultures
(Oromo, Amhara, Eritrean, and Tigrean) enjoy certain economic
rights equal to those of men. They may inherit, sell, or buy
property and engage in business. In some rural areas, women
have a subservient status within the home, and child marriages
remain common, despite opposition by the Government.
Long-established practices, such as female circumcision,
remain prevalent among Ethiopian Orthodox and Muslim families
despite government opposition. The Revolutionary Women's
Association, a mass organization created in 1980, has the
proclaimed goal of improving the status of women.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The only labor organization allowed to operate is the
government-controlled Ethiopian Trade Union (ETU) . The ETU,
one of Ethiopia's mass organizations under the party's
control, is a political group used by the Government to
implement its policies, expand party control within the work
place, and prevent work stoppages. Strikes and slowdowns are
forbidden. Many of ETU's top leaders have been trained in
Eastern Europe, and the organization has close ties to Soviet
and Eastern European labor organizations. The 1988 Report of
the International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of
Experts repeated its criticisms of the mandatory, single trade
union structure in Ethiopia and renewed its request that
freedom of association be granted to rural workers. The
Committee noted the Government's assertion that, pursuant to
the Constitution of 1987, a new labor code will be submitted
to the National Shengo which will reflect the right of workers
and employers to establish and join organizations without
previous authorization, and which will take into account the
Committee's comments, with particular reference to those
concerning restrictions on the right to strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Workers are not permitted to organize independently in
Ethiopia. Labor/management negotiations do not occur in
practice, although labor law does provide for it. Collective
bargaining as such does not exist. Labor laws and practices
are uniform throughout the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
There is no information that forced labor is practiced in
Ethiopia. However, on the demand of the kebele officials,
citizens are required to "volunteer" their services for
frequent community work programs. Workers are also expected
to "volunteer" to work extra hours and weekends, at no pay, so
that factory quotas can be met. The proclamation of the state
of emergency in May was linked to a proclamation requiring
that all employees donate 1 month of their salary to the war
effort.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum age of 14 for nonfarm labor seems to be respected
in practice.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The new Constitution recognizes in principle the right to work
and to rest. Given high unemployment, there is pressure for
existing jobs in the modern economy. The maximum legal
workweek of 48 hours is generally respected in practice, but
as noted there is much "volunteer" labor to meet factory or
office quotas, and government workers receive little of their
promised time off. Health and safety codes for the workplace
are rudimentary and remain unenforced.
The minimum wage in Ethiopia is about $24 per month.
Additional allowances effectively raise the minimum wage of a
full-time employee to about $34. Day laborers in the
agricultural sector receive almost $1 per day plus some
payment in kind (shelter or a meal, for example). Day
laborers in the urban areas receive almost $1.50 per day plus
transportation to and from the workplace. The minimum wage
has been under review for some time without decision. It is
not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living, and
employees paid at these minimum rates must supplement their
income such as through help from the extended family, or
through subsistence farming
