Ethiopia is conducting forced evictions on an “unprecedented” scale, Amnesty International said on Monday, urging authorities to “immediately pause” urban renewal projects.
Ethiopia’s federal government must immediately pause the Corridor Development Project (CDP), an urban development project across at least 58 cities, until a human rights impact assessment is conducted, those forcibly evicted are provided with effective remedy, and safeguards are implemented to ensure any evictions comply with international human rights standards.
Amnesty International makes this call after a new investigation, which found that at least 872 people were forcibly evicted from Bole and Lemi Kura sub-cities in November 2024 by the Addis Ababa City Administration. These include 2 54 people evicted from homes they owned across 47 households, including 114 children and 13 older people, as well as 618 tenants. Officials failed to conduct adequate consultation with the impacted population, did not provide sufficient notice,and none of those impacted reported receiving any compensation.
The scale of forced evictions – the removal of people against their will from their homes without legal protections and other safeguards – resulting from the implementation of the CDP, is unprecedented in Ethiopia. The sudden and forced eviction of a large number of people has also left millions of residents in cities where the CDP is currently being implemented living in fear, uncertain if they will be the next to be displaced.
Amnesty International conducted research for this investigation from 17 January to 10 February 2025. The organization surveyed 47 homeowners affected by forced evictions in the Bole and Lemi Kura sub-cities of Addis Ababa through a questionnaire and interviewed eight victims and community leaders. Their names have been changed and identifying details omitted in Amnesty International’s reporting for their security. The geographical scope of this research only covers a fraction of Addis Ababa, a city widely impacted by evictions linked to the CDP.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab analyzed satellite imagery between early November 2024 and early February This confirmed that at least 29 hectares of densely built-up areas in Bole and Lemi Kura underwent structural clearing during this period, correlating with data provided by victims regarding the location and timeframe of the evictions. The Crisis Evidence Lab also confirmed that the cleared land remained empty at least until early February, which is consistent with the testimonies gathered.
Amnesty International has not been able to determine the total number of people affected by forced evictions in the Bole and Lemi Kura sub-cities as part of the evictions that occurred in November. However, it is highly likely that the number of forcibly evicted individuals in these two sub-cities could be much higher than the findings of this research. This possibility arises from the fact that at least 29 hectares of land were cleared in Bole and Lemi Kura sub-cities during November. Additionally, thousands of individuals were called to meetings with officials to discuss the potential evictions. In addition, Amnesty International also interviewed an individual who had documented a list of 180 evicted houseowners in the area11.
Considering these factors, it is possible that thousands of persons may have been impacted by forced evictions in this locality in early November. On 1 April 2025, Amnesty International shared its preliminary findings with the Ethiopian government but has yet to receive a response.
reference
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr25/9098/2025/en/
