(continued from § 8) Response to interpellation 2023/24:648 on the situation in Ethiopia
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerned the situation in Ethiopia and the need for accountability for human rights violations. M argues that Sweden and the EU demand independent investigations and accountability to normalize relations with Ethiopia 1. M emphasizes that an inclusive political dialogue is crucial for a sustainable peace and that Sweden supports national dialogue processes and demobilization 2. M wants to use the EU's development aid as a lever for positive development 3. S argues that civilians, particularly Amhara, are subjected to horrific abuses and that the international community must act more forcefully 4. S emphasizes that the resources to create peace are insufficient 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! The Government views with great seriousness the violations of and abuses against human rights, international humanitarian law, and refugee law that have been committed in Ethiopia. We view with great concern the ongoing reports of abuses and violations, not least in the Amhara region. Sweden and the EU demand throughout that independent investigations are conducted and that accountability is demanded. Concrete progress for accountability is one of the requirements that the EU has set to fully normalize relations with Ethiopia.
Decent processes for accountability and transitional justice aimed at addressing the massive human rights violations that have occurred in Ethiopia in recent decades are fundamental to ensuring a sustainable peace throughout the country.
Such processes are however also important to enable reconciliation and prevent future crimes. The Ethiopian government has initiated a process for transitional justice that Sweden is following closely. We are working actively together with other like-minded countries to ensure that the process is carried out according to international standards and in a credible and transparent manner.
Sweden and the EU are acting clearly within the framework of the UN Human Rights Council to urge Ethiopia to respect human rights and to ensure that accountability is demanded for abuses and violations. We will continue to do so.
At the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council, which took place on April 3, Sweden, together with 41 other countries, made a joint statement on the developments in Ethiopia, where we also raised our concern over the situation in Amhara and Oromia.
In addition, Sweden supports the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights through aid, which has an important role to play in ensuring the monitoring of the human rights situation in the country, as well as ensuring that processes for accountability and transitional justice take place in accordance with international standards.
During 2023, Sweden's support to the local office amounted to 10 million kronor. The support aims, among other things, to contribute to accountability and capacity building in the human rights area, for example by strengthening the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission's ability to act against and monitor violations and abuses of human rights.
Our support has also contributed to financing the joint report published by OHCHR and the Ethiopian HR Commission in November 2021. The report formed the basis for the UN Human Rights Council establishing an international commission of HR experts for Ethiopia, whose mandate Sweden and the EU were instrumental in establishing.
The Commission published its final report last year. We are now actively working together with the EU and the UN to ensure that its recommendations are followed up through concrete measures that hold those responsible accountable for their actions. Abuses and violations of human rights are unacceptable.
Sweden is actively working together with other countries to monitor developments in the country and to ensure continued joint pressure from the international community. We do this through close coordination in Addis Ababa, in the UN and in the EU, as well as together with countries at the capital level through ongoing and close dialogue and joint initiatives.
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Foreign Affairs, for the answer!
It is undeniably a terrible situation. That civilians are being direct targets must never be tolerated. The international community must truly take a strong stand and act for the protection of civilians and for a stable, inclusive Ethiopia.
Amhara have for a long time been exposed to recurring violence. Due to ethnicity and religion, Amhara in western Ethiopia have also been persecuted. We receive recurring reports of massacres being carried out on Amhara and in the Amhara region. A large number of Swedes worry every day about what their loved ones are being subjected to in Ethiopia.
A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed great concern over the state of emergency introduced by the Ethiopian government, which has granted broad powers to arrest without legal support, impose curfews, and ban public assemblies. Already in August last year, the UN Office of Human Rights had received reports of more than 1,000 people detained on the grounds of the new law. Many were reported to be young Amhara suspected of supporting Fano.
In the autumn, the UN also warned of the risk of genocide and extensive war crimes. Sexual violence and rape have been used systematically. This is completely unacceptable and must stop. Regardless of ethnic affiliation, human rights must be upheld, and the violence must stop.
What is affecting the civilian population in Ethiopia, not least the Amhara, must cease immediately. Here, the international community must truly act together and, I would wish, even more forcefully. The situation for the population in Ethiopia is sufficient reason for the international community to act. But the situation also risks creating an escalation that threatens security in the entire region.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! Let us begin by establishing that the conflicts in Ethiopia cannot be resolved through military means. A broad and inclusive political dialogue is crucial to ensuring a sustainable peace. I believe the questioner and I are in complete agreement on that.
Sweden and the EU work consistently to urge the Ethiopian government and other actors toward dialogue. We do this through ongoing talks with Ethiopian government representatives and other actors, as well as through our support for several local peace and dialogue processes.
Sweden is actively working to support the processes that Ethiopia has initiated to contribute to sustainable peace throughout the country, such as the national dialogue and the process for demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration of former combatants.
Sweden's strategy for development cooperation with Ethiopia during 2022-2026 contains a clear focus on peaceful and inclusive societies. Through aid, we thus play an important role in promoting a sustainable peace.
The national dialogue that is now being prepared in Ethiopia, and whose purpose is to try to address the underlying causes of the conflicts in the country, is an essential process. A solid, transparent and effective national dialogue is an important step on the way towards stability, democracy and peace.
The interpellor wonders how Sweden is working with these issues. Sweden consistently urges the Ethiopian government to ensure that the dialogue is inclusive and also leads to concrete results.
Sweden is also actively working to encourage actors to participate in the design of the dialogue process as well as in the dialogue itself. Sweden therefore supports and cooperates closely with the UN Development Programme, UNDP, the national dialogue commission and actors in civil society. Through the embassy in Addis Ababa, we participate, for example, in the steering group for the UN Development Programme's fund, which has been established in support of the national dialogue process. This gives us an important platform to monitor and influence the process in the right direction.
In addition to bilateral development cooperation, Sweden contributes through the EU to support initiatives aimed at promoting peace, security, and stability in Ethiopia. A multi-year strategic program for Ethiopia for the years 2024-2027 was adopted in September last year and amounts to 650 million euro. EU aid aims, among other things, to promote peace and address the consequences that conflict and drought have had on the most vulnerable communities and households.
The assistance also includes support for the ongoing process that I mentioned for demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration, which was initiated after the Ethiopian government and TPLF entered into an agreement on a permanent ceasefire. Swedish authorities, for example, the Folke Bernadotte Academy, also provide expertise in that process. It is an important contribution to building a sustainable peace.
The path towards a sustainable peace in Ethiopia will, however, likely and probably be long and complicated. The risk is imminent of a prolonged conflict affecting large parts of the country with continued severe consequences for civilians. In order to achieve a sustainable peace, the root causes of the conflict need to be addressed. Sweden will therefore continue to work actively together with the EU, the UN and other partners to contribute to stability in the country.
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Foreign Affairs, for both the answer and the debate!
Making visible what is happening in Ethiopia and what the population, not least the Amhara, are being subjected to is incredibly important. It must not happen in the shadows. These are appalling crimes against human rights, but unfortunately, they receive quite little space in the political discourse.
I agree that there is a lot of important work happening. Among other things, what the Folke Bernadotte Academy works on is important when it comes to a sustainable peace. But it is also incredibly important that one has sufficient resources. The work to achieve that sustainable peace is enormously extensive, and as I understand it, one is quite far from the funds at an international level that would actually be required.
It is a terrible situation. The international community must continue to push and work for an inclusive Ethiopia. It is a country that on the surface is two and a half times larger than Sweden. Extensive resources are therefore required. It is also, as I said in my opening statement, a country that is severely affected by climate change and drought, which together with the conflicts creates a completely terrible situation. Ethiopia and the conflicts there deserve more attention.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! Thanks to the interpellator Alexandra Völker for a good debate!
Sweden is in close contact with the EU's diplomatic service, the EU's special representative for the Horn of Africa, the EU's member states and relevant actors such as the UN and civil society organizations. Sweden has a long, historical commitment in Ethiopia and has consistently acted to promote a sustainable peace in the country.
Since the conflict began in northern Ethiopia, the EU has conditioned budget support on demands for a ceasefire, political dialogue, unhindered humanitarian access, and accountability. I fully share the interpellator's view that resources are important, but they also need to be used wisely. Sweden will continue to work to ensure that the EU's development aid is used as a lever towards positive development in the country.
After the agreement on a permanent ceasefire was concluded between the Ethiopian government and TPLF, the EU has initiated a process to gradually normalize relations with Ethiopia. This means that we maintain our joint pressure while acting clearly and constructively to support the processes that Ethiopia has initiated to promote peace in the country.
We are in complete agreement, I and the interpellor Alexandra Völker, that abuses and violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and refugee law must cease immediately and those responsible must be held accountable. Sweden supports that the EU has conditioned a full normalization of relations with Ethiopia on continued progress in the process of accountability. This was reinforced in the council conclusions adopted by the EU in April 2023 and remains applicable. Sweden will work actively, clearly, and constructively to promote political solutions that can lead to sustainable peace throughout Ethiopia.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.