On January 29, 2025, in its latest statement on human rights in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, the Abiy Ahmed regime is waging an “escalating crackdown against civil society.” The statement denounced the suspension of four independent civil society organizations working in the areas of democratization and human rights.
In recent weeks, the Abiy Ahmed regime has closed the operations of several prominent civil society organizations, including the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC), the country’s oldest independent rights group, the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC), the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD), the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR).
In its investigation, HRW found that the regime’s allegations against the suspended rights organizations, “based on vague and politicized grounds, were inconsistent with provisions of the country’s civil society law.”
According to HRW, the suspensions were based on “allegations that lacked independence” and the authorities were “acting beyond their mandate.” The regime’s move is “part of their escalating crackdown against civil society.”
The relentless attack on civil society and crackdown on rights groups is the latest clear indication of not only the closing of civic space in Ethiopia, but also the ongoing repression and authoritarianism of the Abiy Ahmed regime.
“The Ethiopian authorities over the past year have waged a relentless assault against human rights groups,” said Mausi Segun, HRW’s Africa Director. “By suspending groups engaged in critical human rights documentation and advocacy, the [regime] is showcasing its intolerance of independent scrutiny,” she added.
Similarly, in its latest report, “People Power Under Attack 2024”, CIVICUS — a global alliance of civil society organizations — concludes: “The findings for Ethiopia show there is little space left for people to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as authorities try to stifle citizens’ voices and attempts at activism in an atmosphere of hostility.”
According to the report, Ethiopia’s civic space score is now 20 out of 100, culminating in the country’s civic space being downgraded from “Repressed” to “Closed,” the worst possible rating — a direct consequence of the sustained assault by the Abiy Ahmed regime on civil and political rights in the country.
Ethiopian Policy Institute 