• Permanent Missions to the United Nations
• Permanent Representatives

Dear Mr President Lykketoft,

First of all, using this opportunity, let me Introduce to you the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA)

“The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) was originally founded in Ethiopia in 1996      by the name “Human Rights League (HRL)”,  it was silenced at the outset by the Country’s authoritarian regime. It was then re-launched from the Diaspora in 2007 by exiled founders and members of the HRL.  It was then re-named the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA), and registered as a non – profit and non – political organization in Ontario, Canada on the 14th of June 2007.

HRLHA aims to defend fundamental human rights,  including freedoms of thought, expression and assembly or organization. It also works to raise the awareness of individuals regarding their own basic human rights and those of others. It insists on the observances of international and regional treaties, protocols, covenants, instruments, agreements, etc. on human rights as well as due processes of related laws. It promotes the growth and development of free and vigorous civil societies”. 

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa wants to express its deep concern about what it regards as the wrong decision made by the members of UN General Assembly- headed by you- in electing Ethiopia on June 28, 2016 for the position of a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) The government of Ethiopia makes a lot of noise about the flourishing of democracy in that country. The reality on the ground shows that the undemocratic behavior of the government has been overshadowed by the apparently “democratic” and anti-terrorism façade that the government has demonstrated for the past twenty-five years. During those years, thousands of citizens were killed, kidnapped, or imprisoned by this government because they simply tried to exercise their fundamental rights to free speech and expression, freedom of association and religion. University students, journalists, human rights activists, opposition political party members and their supporters, and farmers have been the major victims in Ethiopia.

Contrary to the EPRDF/TPLF’s promises when it seized power in 1991 and the constitution of the country, the current Ethiopian government is one of the most vicious human rights violators in the world. In the recent crackdowns in Oromia Regional State, which started in November 2015 and still continue, more than 550 peaceful protestors from age 7 to 80 have been cold- bloodedly dealt with. Over 30,000 were arrested and many thousands have been abducted, forcefully disappeared and tens of thousands forced to flee their country of birth because of persecution. The main reasons for the peaceful protests in Oromia Regional State are social exclusion or marginalization; the Oromo people have been systematically blocked by the TPLF/EPRDF government from: Mr. President Lykketoft, There are credible reports from independent human rights organizations and government agencies that show that brutal killings, torture, and disappearances are taking place in Oromia.

Appeal to UNSC President Info Kit – Updated 10-04-16 (1)