Counter-Terrorism Law and Practice of Ethiopia, Particularly in Respect of Human Rights

Counter-Terrorism Law and Practice of Ethiopia, Particularly In Respect of Human Rights

Counter-Terrorism Law and Practice of Ethiopia, Particularly In Respect of Human Rights

By Moges S. Desalegn

PRESENTED TO:

PROFESSOR MARTIN SHEININ

November 20, 2007

Contents

1.  INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….. 3

2.  Ethiopia-Overview ………………………………………………. 4

3.  Ethiopia’s Counter-Terrorism Framework and Practice ………… 5

3.1.  Investigation ………………………………………………… 8

3.2.  Arrest ……………………………………………………….. 10

3.3.  Forced Disappearance ……………………………………… 11

3.4.  Torture and Inhuman Treatment …………………………… 12

3.5.  Freedom of Expression …………………………………….. 13

3.6.  Extra Judicial Killings ……………………………………… 15

3.7.  Extraordinary Rendition …………………………………… 15

4.  Conclusion and recommendation ……………………………….. 16

Bibliography ………………………………………………………… 18

Acronyms

CAT- Committee against Torture

CIA- The Central Intelligence Agency

HRC- Human Rights Committee

ICCPR –international convention on civil and political rights

ICRC- international committee of the Red Cross

IGAD- intergovernmental authority on development

OLF- Oromo liberation front

ONLF- Ogden liberation front

1.  INTRODUCTION

This paper tries to present the conduct of Ethiopia in the fight against terrorism related crimes and terrorism itself while respecting human rights. The emphasis given to the violations of human rights committed by security forces in the name a fight should not be overlooked as this paper claims not to be a through analysis.

The paper tries to see the conduct of security officials and forces in light of the existing constitutional rights of citizens and international human right conventions to which Ethiopia is a party. The paper covers the major existing laws that bear a relation to suspects of terrorist related crimes and the day to day handling processes of the crime. Reports by committees of the UN, reports by non governmental and governmental organizations and news are used to explain the conduct of security forces in the fight against terrorism. Especially reports by the Ethiopian Human Rights council, which is used extensively as a primary data sources by the rest of reporting organs mentioned above, is utilized extensively.

The paper is divided into five sections. The first section tries to give an overview of the legal system and development of the legal regime. The second part is about Ethiopia’s Counter-Terrorism Framework and Practice which takes much of the space of this paper.

The last part is Conclusion and Recommendation.

2. Ethiopia-Overview

Ethiopia is one of the oldest counties in the world and named as home to man kind –a humble reference to its immense contribution to the science of paleoanthropology. The country was ruled, until a few decades before, by a succession of emperors who claim to have descent from king Solomon of Israel and Queen Sheba. The last Few kings, or rather the last two, take up much of the praise and the blame for the present situation and form of the country. Menelik has made tremendous contribution to form a government of law in every aspect. The task has been given rooting by Hailesselase ׀ who was ousted from power by the military junta in 1974.

The first modern penal code of the country was enacted in 1930 during the reign of Hailesselase ׀ followed by the constitution of 1931 which is of the first of its kind. The constitution was later revised in 1955 to be compatible with international human right instruments giving extensive coverage to human rights than its predecessor.

The overthrow of the imperial regime marked a shift of ideology to socialism allied with the USSR and the suspension of the constitution for about 13 years. The short lived constitution of 1987 was enacted to again be suspended in 1991 when the incumbent government forces assumed power. After four years deliberation the current Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Constitution (herein after called FDRE Constitution) came into force in 1995.

TheFDRE constitution of Ethiopia is a landmark, at least,in one aspect from its three predecessors, namely the extensive coverage given to human rights. Almost one third (32 of the 106 provisions are part of the third chapter) of the articles/provisions of this constitution deal directly about human rights in its third chapter named as ''Fundamental Rights and Freedoms ''

Ethiopia is characterized by political upheavals and recurrent drought coupled with lack of good governance and democracy. Worsening the situation, terrorist attacks by different political groups against the civilian population, property and facilities is on the rise in the country. One sad tragedy worth mentioning is the attack on oilfield workers in Eastern Ethiopia, Degehabour Zone of the Somali Regional State, Abole locality on the 26 April 2007 at around 5 a.m. which took away the lives of 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese.

Poverty, the religious fault line between Christianity and Islam which can be a source of stability or instability, Somali irredentism, internal ethnic conflicts in the home of more than 80 nationalities, the Oromo question, Islamic fundamentalism in the neighboring countries especially in the Sudan, and the conflict with Eritrea and the instability in Somalia are the major security threats for the country.[1]

However, the terrorist threat to the country is assigned to be intermediate in a study conducted by The African Human Security Initiative at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa.[2] This is an indicator/parameter of the level of the threat and a direction how the government should conduct its actions against terrorism with due emphasis to the human rights of the suspects and its international commitments in respect of human rights of suspects and human right implications of actions.

3. Ethiopia’s Counter-Terrorism Framework and Practice

Ethiopia is a party to 11 of the following international conventions related with terrorism[3]:

1. Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, 14 September 1963;
2. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, 16December 1970;
3. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, 14 December 1973;
4. International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, 17 December 1979;
5. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Maritime Navigation, 10 March 1988;
6. Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf, 10 March 1988;
7. Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection, 1 March 1991;
8. International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings,15 December 1997;
9. Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction,1997;
10. UN Convention against Transnational Crime, 15 November 2000 and
11. OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, 1999.

Three of the above namely: (a) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, 14 December 1973; (b) Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Maritime Navigation, 10 March 1988; and(c) UN Convention against Transnational Crime, 15 November 2000 have been ratified and the rest are signed. One of these conventions is a regional convention initiated by the intergovernmental organization African Union..

The changed international context after 9/11 has its impact, as is elsewhere, on the speedy signature of the terrorist related conventions by Ethiopia. Four of the above 11 conventions are sighed after 9/11. Well this might raise the question of the need for them all in the domestic legal system inline with the terrorist threats the country is facing domestically and regional wise.

Ethiopia is a party to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and other Inhuman Treatments (CAT). The prohibition against torture is one of the preemptory norms of international law and as such being a party the treaty makes the difference on commitment and further consolidates the onset of complaint procedure if the state becomes a party to the Optional Protocol. However, Ethiopia is not a party to the optional protocol to neither ICCPR nor the Convention against Torture and All Forms of Inhuman Treatment.

Ethiopia is also a member to many bilateral and multi lateral peace and security agreements. IGAD is one in point. This regional organization which has 6 members has committed itself to

Consider the establishment of a project to develop an international instrument for the IGAD States on the matters of extradition and mutual legal assistance on the basis of the model treaties of the United Nations...[4]

Whether there is such a need for members of IGAD to have a new international instrument is questionable. The already existing conventions would sufficiently handle the threat of terrorism and attention should be directed to more demanding aspects of the task or to other demanding problems of the region as a whole.

Ethiopia has a bilateral relation on security with USA. The country is a beneficiary of the USA’s Pan-Sahel Initiative started in 2003 for counter terrorism. The major focus of the initiative is providing finical assistance, immigration control software and hardware to better trace citizens and enable the law enforcement training of Ethiopia.[5] One worth mentioning among the software support is PISCES (Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System) which is a border control database system largely based on biometrics used for data collection from the recipient states one among which is Ethiopia.[6]The system has been a bone of controversy in many countries which have installed it.[7] The system could possibly extend too much personal information of citizens to foreign countries encroaching on the right to privacy and exposing citizens to other legal systems to which one might not have recourse. There is bilateral relation with Turkey to cooperation in the fight against terrorism.[8]

3.1 Investigation

This topic tries to see who conducts, how and weather the investigation is in line with the human rights of suspects.

Crime investigation powers of the police are envisaged under the Criminal Procedure Code of 1961 of Ethiopia.[9] The police are required to set in motion of investigation when an alleged report for the commission or omission of a crime is submitted. The police can also investigate crimes in its own initiative. The constitution which is of a recent development in the legal regime of the country and other human right documents for protection citizens rights lay principles for the conduct criminal of investigation. Most notably:

·  the right to privacy

·  the right to liberty

·  The Rights of Persons Held in Custody

·  Rights of Persons Accused

·  Prohibition against Inhuman Treatment: and

·  Right of Persons Arrested, which are the same content wise with provisions of the

ICCPR are the most important provisions which guide the conduct of police investigation of terrorist related crimes. In clear contradiction to these provisions of the constitution and human right conventions to which Ethiopia is a party, the following inconsistency, in the conduct of investigation,are observed to in a growing manner over the years.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Seventieth Session 19 February to 9 March 2007 has given a recommendation concerning the condact of the security bodies in Ethiopia.

The Committee is alarmed at information according to which military and police forces have been systematically targeting certain ethnic groups, in particular the Anuak and the Oromo peoples, and reports of summary executions, rape of women and girls, arbitrary detention, torture, humiliations and destruction of property and crops of members of those communities (articles 5 (b), (d), (e) and (f) and 6 of the Convention). [10]

The army, unlike the police which is empowered to conduct investigation, is involved in the process of investigation of terrorist without any legal basis and in contradiction to mandate of its establishment. The law that established the defense forces of the country does no where mentions the power of investigation of terrorists falling under the duties of the military[11]. Neither the law provides that terrorism related crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the military courts that by right appoint and supervise the conduct of investigation.[12]Use of army camps for detention of persons suspected of membership to OLF and supporters is reported by US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 1999 on Ethiopia.[13] Abdurahman Shek Mumin Aden, 50 years old, and his brother Ahmed Nur Shek Mumin Aden, 52 years old, were also detained in a military establishment for allegedly supporting Al Itihad Al Islamia.[14]

The Danger of this practice is that the detainees will be in military camps which are closed for inspection by independent organizations that follow up detention conditions such organizations like the ICRC which does periodical inspection of detention facilities and might create problem for the detainees to fully realize their constitutional and human right of to have the opportunity to communicate with, and to be visited by, their spouses or partners, close relatives, friends, religious councilors, medical doctors and their legal counsel.

3.2 Arrest

Arrest in thousands is a normal practice for links in terrorist activities related with OLF and the US Department of State Report on Human Rights Situation of Ethiopia for the year 1999 gives a number of 7,500 detainees which is very much alarming. Individuals are being arrested without warrant on suspicion of involvement with OLF, which is labeled as a more dangerous organization than anysimilar organization by government officials[15],and Al Itihad Al Islamia[16] is rampant.

The national defense force of the country has been reported to have taken part in the investigation of suspects of terrorism in clear contradiction to its area of jurisdiction and the power of the police. “In typical cases, security forces arrested and held these persons incommunicado for several days or weeks before eventually releasing them.”[17]

Abdurahman Shek Mumin Aden and Ahmed Nur Shek Mumin Aden, whowere suspected of links with Al Itihad Al Islamia, were detainedin a military compound for a month.[18]

The usually common detention facility- called Maikelawi- of suspects of terrorist related crimes is worth noting in one important aspect in that it narrows or violates the presumption of innocence before the pronouncement of a judicial decision. The constitution under article 20(3) provides that during proceedings accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. In a similar vain the criminal code under article 110(3) stipulates that prisoners awaiting trial must be kept away from those already sentenced and should not be treated in like manner with those who are already sentenced. This prison facility is a highly secured one and is used for sensitive cases like “political” prisoners. The suspects are accused of crimes that are not very much different from other crimes under the Criminal Code and as such there will be no reason why they have to go through a tight and high security detention facility. One should take note of the lack of classification of detention and correction facilities in Ethiopia. Hence, the legal basis for use of the Maikelawi detention facility for suspect terrorists is not known. In addition to this, such a highly secured prison facility greatly curbs the right of the suspect to meet his family, medical doctor, legal counsel, and spiritual counsel.