The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell briefing on Ethiopia
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell briefing on Ethiopia
Date: 16 November 2021
Location: Geneva
Subject: Briefing on Ethiopia
According to reports, at least 1,000 individuals are believed to have been detained over the past couple of weeks – with some reports putting the figure much higher.
Detention conditions are generally reported to be poor, with many detainees held in overcrowded police stations, in violation of international human rights standards, including minimum standards related to the treatment of detainees.
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are concerned that arrests have been continuing over the last week in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, as well as in Gondar, Bahir Dar and other locations, as police invoke the excessively wide provisions of the state of emergency declared on 2 November to arrest, search and detain people.”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “These developments are all the more disturbing given that most of those detained are reported to be people of Tigrayan origin, arrested often on suspicion of being affiliated to or supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “There are worrying reports that many of those detained have not been informed of the reasons for their detention, nor have they been brought before a court of law or other tribunal to review the reasons for their detention, and have not been formally charged. We are also concerned at some reports of ill-treatment in detention.”
The UN Human Rights Office further calls for the detainees’ safety to be guaranteed and for them to be afforded the full protection of their human rights, including fair trial and procedural guarantees.
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “With specific regard to the situation of UN local staff, 10 are still being held as well as some 34 drivers subcontracted by the UN. We call for all those still in detention to be immediately released. Or else a court or other independent and impartial tribunal should review the reasons for their detention, or they should be formally charged. “
Liz Trossell added that the state of emergency in force in Ethiopia risks compounding an already very serious human rights and humanitarian situation in the country. Its provisions are extremely broad, with vague prohibitions going as far as encompassing “indirect moral” support for what the government has labelled “terrorist groups”. Under the state of emergency, judicial review of enforcement of the provisions is explicitly suspended, and there are sweeping powers of arrest and potentially indefinite administrative detention for the duration of the emergency measure, raising serious concerns of arbitrary detention.
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “As the High Commissioner has warned, there are grave risks that such measures, far from stabilising the situation, will affect further the already compromised delivery of humanitarian aid, deepen divisions, endanger civil society and human rights defenders, provoke greater conflict and only add to the considerable human suffering in Ethiopia.”
While the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Ethiopia is a State party, allows for certain emergency measures in response to significant threats to the life of the nation, strict requirements must be met. Administrative detention should be used on an exceptional basis and only against individuals representing a direct and imperative threat, to be determined on a case-by-case basis, subject to procedural guarantees, including most importantly regular independent and impartial review.
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Detention must be ended as soon as the individual no longer represents a threat and should be applied in a non-discriminatory way. Arrests and detentions currently occurring in Ethiopia under the powers of the state of emergency do not respect these conditions”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In addition, certain rights are non-derogable even in a state of emergency, including freedom from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to life and the right to equality and non-discrimination.”
TRT: 02:27
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 16 November 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior: Palais des Nations Geneva
- Interior: wide shot press briefing room and podium
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“We are concerned that arrests have been continuing over the last week in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, as well as in Gondar, Bahir Dar and other locations, as police invoke the excessively wide provisions of the state of emergency declared on 2 November to arrest, search and detain people.”
- Wide shot: Participants in press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“These developments are all the more disturbing given that most of those detained are reported to be people of Tigrayan origin, arrested often on suspicion of being affiliated to or supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).”
- Wide shot: Participants in press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“There are worrying reports that many of those detained have not been informed of the reasons for their detention, nor have they been brought before a court of law or other tribunal to review the reasons for their detention, and have not been formally charged. We are also concerned at some reports of ill-treatment in detention.”
- Wide shot: Participants in press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“With specific regard to the situation of UN local staff, 10 are still being held as well as some 34 drivers subcontracted by the UN. We call for all those still in detention to be immediately released. Or else a court or other independent and impartial tribunal should review the reasons for their detention, or they should be formally charged. “
- Wide shot: Participants in press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“As the High Commissioner has warned, there are grave risks that such measures, far from stabilising the situation, will affect further the already compromised delivery of humanitarian aid, deepen divisions, endanger civil society and human rights defenders, provoke greater conflict and only add to the considerable human suffering in Ethiopia.”
- Wide shot: Participants in press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“Detention must be ended as soon as the individual no longer represents a threat and should be applied in a non-discriminatory way. Arrests and detentions currently occurring in Ethiopia under the powers of the state of emergency do not respect these conditions”
- Wide shot: Participants in press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):“In addition, certain rights are non-derogable even in a state of emergency, including freedom from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to life and the right to equality and non-discrimination.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Colombia earthquake: International teams ready to support, says UN
As earthquake rescue efforts across western Colombia continued on Tuesday, UN agencies said that they stood ready to help “with everything we've got” if and when the request came from the authorities.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | HRC
Myanmar's military has carried out a sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians – including airstrikes on homes, schools and camps for displaced people, alongside arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence – Human Rights Council-appointed investigators said on Tuesday.
1
6
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
In a new twist on panda diplomacy, UN Geneva welcomed five young peacocks to the Palace of Nations on Friday, a gift of India that preserves a tradition of keeping the stately birds in the grounds, that predates both the global body and its ill-fated predecessor, the League of Nations.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Afghanistan’s hunger crisis intensifies as millions go without food aid – WFP
Afghanistan’s dire hunger crisis now affects 14 million people including babies fed on weak tea and a little bread by their despairing and dirt-poor parents.
In a new alert on Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that one in three Afghans is now in the grip of acute food insecurity and that it lacks the resources to contain the deepening crisis.
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM
From fake jobs to forced crime: IOM sounds alarm on human trafficking behind online scams
A job offer can conceal a criminal network and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Lured by false promises of legitimate employment abroad, hundreds of thousands of people are being trafficked each year, held captive and forced to carry out online scams.
Ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons marked on 30 July, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is raising the alarm over a rapidly expanding multibillion-dollar criminal industry that turns job seekers into victims of forced cybercrime.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In Sudan’s El Obeid, women risk drone attacks by day and rape by night to access water
As war intensifies in the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan state, filling up a jerrycan of water comes at a high risk for women and girls: by day, drones strike water points and by night, women who venture out to fill a bucket risk rape. UN Women warns of a dual terror that has turned access to water into a deadly gamble.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo made the following remarks on stranded Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months at sea, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Danielle Bell, head of UN Human Rights’ Ukraine team, spoke of the deepening impact of the war on the civilian population.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks Intensified Israeli attacks in Gaza.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DR Congo: Ebola outbreak continues to expand, WHO sees signs of stabilization
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN health teams and partners are still racing to contain the rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak, despite ongoing insecurity in eastern areas where the virus has taken hold. As of 19 July, the DRC Government has recorded 2,423 confirmed cases, including 967 deaths and 469 patient recoveries.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokeperson Jeremy Laurence appealed for calm in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir amid a wave of unrest ahead of regional elections at the end of the month.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
UN humanitarians working in war-torn Sudan warned on Friday of growing dramatic needs among the more than 100,000 displaced people now sheltering in camps in the city of El Obeid. "We are providing even not the full food ration to the people, but even that reduced food ration is being shared by the recipients with other families, because they know that they don't have any other source of income," said World Food Programme (WFP) Sudan Country Director Abdallah Alwardat.