The human rights situation in Ethiopia remained dire, with government forces, militias, and non-state armed groups committing serious abuses in conflict-affected areas and elsewhere throughout the country.
Fighting between the Ethiopian military and militias in the Amhara region resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries, including attacks against refugees and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals. The government renewed a sweeping state of emergency for the Amhara region, but its provisions were applied throughout Ethiopia; mass arrests persisted once it expired.
Authorities harassed, surveilled, and detained journalists, human rights defenders, and outspoken figures, creating an increasingly hostile and restrictive reporting environment.
Impunity for human rights abuses remained the norm. While the government developed a transitional justice policy, accountability efforts for past and ongoing abuses have been inadequate and lacked transparency and independent oversight. Ethiopia’s international partners continued to normalize their relationships with the Ethiopian government with little regard for ongoing abuses.
Conflict and Abuses
The armed conflict between the Ethiopian military and Fano militia in the Amhara region continued throughout 2024, with warring parties committing war crimes and other serious abuses.
In Amhara, government forces carried out extrajudicial executions, sexual violence, torture, and ill-treatment against civilians, and used drones and heavy artillery against civilians, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Fano militias were also responsible for killings of civilians, attacks on civilian objects, and unlawful arrests.
Ethiopian forces also committed widespread attacks amounting to war crimes against medical professionals, patients, and health facilities in the Amhara region. Soldiers beat, arbitrarily arrested, and intimidated medical professionals. Soldiers also unlawfully attacked medical transports and interfered with the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
International humanitarian presence remained deeply constrained in Amhara, where the UN faced the highest incidents of violence in the country. Since January, eight aid workers have been killed. In October, media reported that the UN was considering suspending relief operations in Amhara due to attacks on aid workers.
Freedoms of Expression, Media, and Association
Under the law, authorities carried out mass arrests without a warrant and enabled numerous restrictions on people’s movement and communication. Authorities targeted journalists and politicians critical of the government’s actions in Amhara. On January 31, Ethiopian security forces arrested Dessalegn Chanie, a member of parliament representing the opposition party, the National Movement of the Amhara (NAMA). Authorities released Dessalegn on March 14. The state of emergency expired in June
Ethiopian security and intelligence forces intimidated, harassed, and threatened prominent Ethiopian human rights organizations, forcing several rights defenders into exile. On May 23, security officials visited the Addis Ababa offices of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), in search of information, and threatened two staff members in the process. On April 6, 2024, two security force personnel came to the home of an EHRCO staff member and warned them to cease their human rights work or face consequences.
Media remained under a government stranglehold, with many journalists having to choose between self-censorship, harassment and arrest, or exile. In June, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that 54 journalists and media workers had fled the country since 2020.
Due Process and Fair Trial Rights
Authorities detained critics and journalists for prolonged periods without charge. In June, authorities released journalists Belay Manaye, Bekalu Alamirew, and Tewodros Zerfu, and opposition figure Sintayehu Chekol after several months in detention. Authorities had held Belay and Bekalu in different detention sites, including Awash Arba military camp, under harsh detention conditions.
Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees
Conflict and unrest in Amhara also impacted refugees. Local militias and gunmen subjected Sudanese refugees in Awlala and Kumer camps to killings, beatings, looting, and forced labor. On August 21, Ethiopian soldiers, police, and local militia beat and separated Sudanese refugees, returning several hundred to Sudan in a process that did not meet international standards. Between September 1 and 8, Ethiopian federal forces clashed with Fano, an Amhara armed group, in and around these camps, putting refugees at risk.
Barriers to Education
In November 2023, the Ministry of Education published a draft directive requiring students to return to school within 15 days of giving birth or be suspended for the academic year. Women’s rights organizations criticized the directive for undermining girls’ rights to education and adequate maternity leave.
Accountability and Justice
In April, the government approved a nation-wide transitional justice policy, after a year-long consultation process that was criticized by victims, political opposition groups, and civil society actors over the lack of transparency and the inclusiveness of the consultations, and the timeliness of the discussion while fighting was ongoing.
Ethiopian authorities continued to deny or downplay allegations that it committed abuses against civilians, casting doubt on its commitment to hold its forces and Eritrean soldiers to account for grave crimes.
At the March and September Human Rights Council sessions, the European Union delivered joint statements, supported by more than 40 UN members, which affirmed the importance of a credible transitional justice and accountability process with the March statement saying it should include an international component. In September, the United States extended its executive order that established a sanctions regime for human rights abuses and other actions in northern Ethiopia.
Full Human Right Watch Report
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/ethiopia#0a5928
