UN Authority Figures

UN General Assembly Vice-President: Ethiopia

The Liyu Police force, which was under ex-President Abdi Mohamoud Omar's control, has enacted an abusive counter-insurgency campaign over the past decade and been implicated in extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.
Source: Bloomberg, August 20, 2018. Photo: An Ethiopian soldier (Wikimedia Commons)

Mission of the General Assembly:
"13. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of:
    a. promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification;
    b. promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." ("UN Charter")

Term of office: 2019-2020

Ethiopia's Record on "the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion":
"Human rights issues included reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings by security forces and between citizens; forced disappearances by some government forces; torture; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention by security forces; political prisoners; interference with privacy; censorship and site blocking; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, such as overly restrictive nongovernmental organization laws; and significant restrictions on freedom of movement; violence against women and children, in part due to government inaction; criminalization of samesex sexual conduct; and child labor, including worst forms... There were numerous reports that the government and its representatives committed arbitrary and unlawful killings. Security forces used excessive force against civilians... there were reports that security officials tortured and otherwise abused detainees... "
(U.S. State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2018, Ethiopia)

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