Human Rights Watch (HRW) characterized Ethiopia’s human rights situation in 2024 as “dire,” citing widespread conflict, restrictions on civil society, and impunity for abuses. The organization’s annual report highlighted abuses by government forces, militias, and non-state armed groups in conflict-affected areas and beyond.
“Government forces, militias, and non-state armed groups committed serious abuses in conflict-affected areas and elsewhere throughout the country,” HRW stated.
The conflict in the Amhara region remained one of the most critical areas of concern. HRW documented what it described as “war crimes” by both government forces and Fano militias. Referring to findings from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), HRW reported that Ethiopian military forces engaged in “extrajudicial executions, sexual violence, torture, and ill-treatment against civilians.”
One of the deadliest incidents occurred on January 29, when HRW reported that Ethiopian military forces “summarily killed dozens of civilians” in Merawi town.
Fano militias, HRW noted, were responsible for “killings of civilians, attacks on civilian objects, and unlawful arrests.”
The humanitarian situation deteriorated further in Amhara, where the UN faced what HRW described as “the highest incidents of violence in the country.” Eight aid workers were killed in 2024, prompting the UN to consider suspending relief operations due to increasing risks.
In Tigray, HRW cited ongoing abuses by Eritrean forces, including “rape, sexual violence against women and girls, and looting of civilian property.” The report also highlighted a rise in kidnappings nationwide, including the abduction of over 100 people, mostly university students, in Oromia in July.
HRW reported that Ethiopia’s state of emergency, extended in February until June, facilitated mass arrests and restrictions on movement, targeting journalists, opposition members, and activists. Amnesty International documented the detention of hundreds of individuals in Amhara later in the year, including senior police officers, intelligence officials, and academics.
“Media remained under a government stranglehold, with many journalists having to choose between self-censorship, harassment and arrest, or exile,” HRW said. It noted that since 2020, 54 journalists had fled the country.
Civil society organizations also faced significant pressure. HRW reported that Ethiopian security forces harassed staff members of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) in May. In November, authorities suspended several organizations, including the Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD).
HRW noted the government’s adoption of a transitional justice policy in April but criticized it as “inadequate” due to a lack of transparency and independent oversight. The organization stated that “accountability efforts for past and ongoing abuses have been inadequate and lacked transparency and independent oversight.”
HRW further stated that “Ethiopian authorities continued to deny or downplay allegations of abuses against civilians,” while also noting that “Ethiopia’s international partners continued to normalize relations with the government, with little regard for ongoing abuses.”