http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54719#.V7hpkY-cGUk
UN rights office urges Ethiopia to ensure independent probe of
reported violations in Oromia region
19 August 2016 – Voicing concern over serious human rights violations
in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia earlier this month, the
United Nations human rights chief today urged the Government to ensure
access for independent observers to affected areas and to work towards
opening up political and democratic reforms.
Against the backdrop of extremely alarming reports on human rights
abuses during public protests over the weekend of 6-8 August, the UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, appealed to
the Ethiopian authorities for allowing human rights experts to access
to the conflict zones and evaluate the situation.
“We welcome the decision to launch an independent investigation, and
we urge the Government to ensure that the investigation has a mandate
to cover allegations of human rights violations since the unrest in
Oromia began in November 2015,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told
reporters in Geneva.
She went on to stress that the probe should be “indeed independent,
transparent, thorough and effective, with a view to establishing
whether the use of excessive force occurred and with a view to
bringing to justice the perpetrators of any human rights violations.”
The UN rights office is ready to assist in ensuring that the
investigation is abide by international human rights standards.
However, she said, it is critical to have access to areas where have
been reported of ongoing arbitrary arrests, intimidation and
harassment of people in the regions.
“We call on the Government to ensure that the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and expression are protected and that those detained
for exercising these rights are promptly released,” said Ms.
Shamdasani.
She further urged the Government to work towards opening up the
political and democratic space, including comprehensive security
sector, legislative, and institutional reforms.
Received on Sat Aug 20 2016 - 09:11:47 EDT