Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed. |File Photo|.
The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Ethiopian authorities to accept and implement recommendations on improving press freedom conditions and guaranteeing the safety of journalists during the United Nations’ upcoming review of its human rights record.
Earlier this year, CPJ submitted a report assessing Ethiopia’s press freedom and journalist safety record from 2019, as part of the country’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) scheduled for November 12.
During the UPR, the United Nations Human Rights Council peer reviews the human rights record of a country and considers recommendations on how a country can better fulfill its international human rights obligations.
CPJ’s report to the U.N. detailed the arbitrary detention, physical violence, harassment, and severe legal restrictions Ethiopian journalists face.
CPJ made several recommendations including promptly releasing detained journalists, investigating attacks on the press, ensuring accountability for violence against journalists, and amending repressive laws to align with international human rights standards.
There has been impunity for perpetrators of physical attacks against members of the press, including in the cases of two killed journalists, the report stressed.
“No credible investigation was carried out into the January 19, 2021, killing of Tigray TV journalist Dawit Kebede Araya. Ethiopian national army soldiers shot and killed Dawit and a friend in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray state,” the reported added.
