International Mechanism Submissions

This report addresses Ethiopia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations with respect to the death penalty and related issues.

Ethiopia has not formally abolished the death penalty or implemented a moratorium on executions, nor has it limited the application of the death penalty to the “most serious” crimes. Although Ethiopia has not sentenced anyone to death or executed anyone in many years, capital punishment remains a possibility under Ethiopia’s existing laws, as there are few safeguards in place, such as timely and consistent access to counsel, to ensure capital defendants receive a fair trial.

The ongoing conflicts between the government and ethnic groups within Ethiopia have resulted in a rise in arbitrary detention of civilians and combatants. There are credible reports of the government torturing detained civilians and combatants, and the government does not always comply with court orders for the release of detainees. The government also has a track record of harassing human rights defenders through legal and extra-legal means and of impeding or outright blocking them from accessing conflict zones.

This report examines the current state of the death penalty in Ethiopia and recommends Ethiopia abolish the death penalty and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This report further recommends that, in the interim, Ethiopia should: institute an official moratorium on executions; limit the death penalty to the most serious crimes, as defined by international human rights standards; ensure timely access to competent counsel for all persons accused of capital offenses; take comprehensive steps to eliminate the use of torture; provide for independent judicial oversight of conditions of detention; codify and enforce rights safeguarding fair trials; and discourage threats and prosecute violence against human rights defenders.