Ethiopia: One Year after the Pretoria Agreement

One year after the signing of the Pretoria Agreement, the situation has improved for civilians in Tigray, with desperately needed humanitarian aid and a restoration of services such as banking and telecommunications arriving in parts of the region. Nonetheless, human rights violations remain ongoing in Tigray, as well as in Oromia, Amhara, and other regions of Ethiopia.

On October 31, 2023, the Open Society Foundations, Refugees International, and Amnesty International co-hosted a discussion that looked at the progress of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in light of the findings of the United Nations International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) and examined the current human rights situation in Ethiopia.

This was a hybrid event. The in-person component took place at Open Society Foundations’ offices, located at 1730 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20036. The virtual component was hosted via Zoom. 

Panel I: An Assessment of the Cessation of Hostilities in light of ICHREE Findings (9:15-10:15 a.m.)

Moderator

Sarah Margon, Director of Foreign Policy, Open Society Foundations-U.S.

Opening Remarks

Amb. Beth Van Schaack, U.S. Ambassador, Global Criminal Justice

Speakers

Steven Ratner, Commissioner, U.N. Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia

Abadir Ibrahim, Associate Director, Human Rights Program (Harvard Law School)

Michael Woldemariam, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy (University of Maryland)

Panel II: The Status of Human Rights in Ethiopia (10:30-11:45)

Moderator

Abdullahi Boru Halakhe, Senior Advocate, East and Southern Africa, Refugees International

Opening Remarks

Michelle Gavin, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations 

Speaker

Faisal Roble, Director of Research, Institute for Horn of African Studies and Affairs

Adem Abebe, Senior Programme Officer, Constitution-Building Processes, International Idea

Chidi Odinkalu, Professor of Practice, International Human Rights Law (Fletcher School, Tufts University)

Featured Image: A woman stands in a metal sheet room that was damaged by shelling, in Humera, Ethiopia, on November 22, 2020. Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images.