The Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in Ogaden

Background

The Ethiopian government, ignoring its own constitution and international law and norms, has given the Ethiopian army and security forces in the Ogaden a Carte Blanc ability to use every conceivable means to destroy and humiliate the Somali people under its since 2007.

The Ethiopian government using the Army spearheaded a campaign of terror and the imposition of embargos on aid and trade to deprive people of basic necessities of life in the central and hinterland areas of the Ogaden.

International NGO’s such as ICRC were outright banned from working in the Ogaden, while they continued to work in the rest of Ethiopia. This was because of their mandate of monitoring the Geneva conventions regarding civilians in armed conflict. The Ethiopian government decided to commit grave human rights violations and did not want to have international witnesses, such as ICRC, who have a mandate to visit prisons and support civiklains in conflict zones. A few other NGOs were allowed to work under duress after they accepted to turn a blind eye to the attrocities being committed. They operated under the guidance of their minders in designated areas. Thus, accepting the discriminatory polices of the Ethiopian government is a flagrant violation of international norms.

The army used this vacuum to set up controls on the Somali border and blocked all trade routes, except few designated areas, where vehicles are stopped, searched and delayed for a minimum of six weeks. Once they are released, they follow designated routes that pass towns that have military garrisons. Furthermore, livestock trade to Somalia is forced to go through these few towns. These measures have severely disrupted the traditional trade routes between the Ogaden and Somalia raising the cost of living. In many parts of the Ogaden, people are forced to live only on livestock and scarce products found only locally because of these extreme restrictions.

After imposing these draconian measures on a population that was already living in a precarious and draught prone environment, the Ethiopian army embarked on a collective punishment campaign of terror and displacement….

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