By: Abyot Alemu
In the hushed corridors beyond the State House in Addis Ababa, a teacher’s words echo with urgency: “When the mirror speaks, the choice is not to look away—but to listen.” That mirror is embodied in the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Ethiopia—not a condemnation, but a reflection of our collective failures and potential. Released this year, the report unflinchingly highlights ongoing conflict-related abuses, suppression of dissent, and entrenched impunity in Ethiopia. Instead of recoiling, Ethiopia’s array of human rights stakeholders—from the government to activists, journalists to diaspora communities—must confront this mirror together, not as adversaries but as participants in a shared quest for justice.
- Government & Judicial Institutions: From Reflection to Responsibility
The mirror shows disturbing scenes: arbitrary detentions, unexplained killings, and civilian suffering in Amhara and Oromia regions, reportedly tied to counterinsurgency campaigns and mass displacement. Those are not isolated incidents—they mark alarming patterns. The Merawi massacre—where between 50 to 100 civilians, including children and the elderly, were executed by soldiers in late January 2024—stands as a tragic testament to this violence. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission’s investigation—identifying 45 confirmed victims with an expectation of more—is a starting point, not an endpoint.
But a mirror does not condemn; it invites change. The government must amplify this invitation by empowering independent justice mechanisms. Transitional justice—consisting of a truth commission, special prosecutor, and court—must not remain a symbolic gesture. It requires transparency, representativeness, and integrity. To echo those words of the teacher: choose to listen, and choose to rebuild trust.
- Civil Society: Reclaiming Voice Amid Silence
The mirror reveals shrinking civic space. Ethiopia’s Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC)—a beacon for local activists—was suspended in December 2024 on vague grounds and reinstated only in March 2025 after widespread condemnation. This suppression is not just administrative; it is symbolic, signaling to activists that scrutiny is unwelcome. Yet the mirror urges resilience, not retreat. The Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO), comprising over 1,500 members, must amplify its collective voice, preserving evidentiary standards and advocacy, and resisting the erosion of civic space.
Civil society must continue ensuring accountability—not just through public critique but through rigorous documentation, community engagement, and strategic alliances with international human rights networks.
III. Media & Journalists: Storytellers in Peril
Through the mirror, we see silenced pressrooms. Journalists and activists face increasing arrests, restrictive laws, and threats—crippling their ability to inform. Yet stories still emerge. The Merawi massacre resurfaced in public consciousness not through propaganda but through courageous journalism that refused to be silent. The mirror encourages journalists to persist, even as the environment grows darker. By pooling resources, safeguarding digital channels, and telling the human stories behind the statistics, they can reinforce the foundations of civic awareness.
- Regional and Community Figures: Building Bridges, Not Walls
The reflections are fragmented—Amhara, Oromia, and other regions with their own scars and suspicions. The mirror reveals not only conflict but also missed opportunities for dialogue. Reconciliation must start at the grassroots. Community elders, regional leaders, and local mediators must convene spaces where voices—from victims and survivors to youth and women—find representation. Memorialization of atrocities such as Merawi must be more than a historical note; it must become a foundation for communal healing.
- Diaspora & International Allies: Looking Beyond Borders
Beyond Ethiopia’s borders, the mirror reveals waves of pain carried by the diaspora: sexual violence in Tigray, unregulated displacement, and shifting international priorities. A recent report by Physicians for Human Rights and the Organization for Justice and Accountability details mass rape, forced pregnancies, and sexual torture during the conflict—atrocities amounting to crimes against humanity. U.S. aid freezes—like the one in 2025 under executive directives—have tangible consequences: delaying food relief, destabilizing health systems, and silencing essential services.
The diaspora and international partners must advocate not just loudly, but strategically. Support should be aligned with tangible reforms: accountability, democratic safeguards, and protection of civic space. Engagement must reflect solidarity, not interference.
Conclusion – When the Mirror Speaks, Will We Act?
The U.S. 2024 Human Rights Report is not a foreign lecture—it is Ethiopia’s moment of self-confrontation. It should inspire neither denial nor fear, but resolve. The choice is collective: stand divided and fractured, or listen, reflect, and rebuild.
As that teacher said: when the mirror speaks, choose to listen. Let us all—government, civil society, journalists, communities, and diaspora—insist on justice. For those killed in Merawi, those displaced in Oromia, those wounded in silence: Ethiopia must reflect, and Ethiopia must act.