“Such a Brutal Crackdown”

Ethiopian law requires permits for demonstrations. 109 Most protesters interviewed by Human
Rights Watch did not know whether permits had been acquired, although the spontaneous nature
of the protests in many locations suggest that permits were unlikely. In four locations, the
organizers of protests told Human Rights Watch that they were not aware of the need for permits.
In each of these cases, they notified the school administration in advance about the scheduled
protest. In four other protest locations, protesters did apply to the local woreda office. In all four
cases they were rejected, and on one occasion the applicant was arrested. Badessa, a 22-year-old
grade 9 student in East Wollega, said:
We had a big debate within our school whether to go to the local administrator
or not to tell him we were going to protest. He’s a known [government] cadre, but
three of us decided to. He immediately said no, and told us to get out of his
office. An hour later they [regional police] intercepted us on our way back home
from school, and arrested the three of us. I was in detention for four days. I don’t
know where the other two are. 110
The rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly provided under international human
rights law may be limited within narrowly defined boundaries. However, the restrictions under
Ethiopian law allow the government to suppress these rights beyond the limits set by
international law.
As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Ethiopia is obligated to abide
by this framework. The ICCPR guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and specifies that "no
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity
with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security
or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others." 111
The restrictions permitted should be interpreted narrowly. For example, terms such as "national
security" and "public safety" refer to situations involving an immediate and violent threat to the
nation. "Necessary" restrictions must be proportionate: that is, carefully balanced against the
specific reason for the restriction being put in place. 112
109 Peaceful Demonstration and Public Political Meeting Procedure Proclamation No. 3/1991.
110 Human Rights Watch interview with #94, location withheld, April 2016.
111 ICCPR, article 21.
112 See Manfred Nowak, U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: CCPR Commentary, (Kehl: N.P. Engel, 2 nd ed. 2005), pp.
488-94.
“SUCH A BRUTAL CRACKDOWN” 48