US urged the Ethiopian government to permit international human rights experts’ access to Ethiopia

-
US demands human right investigation to reinstate AGOA privilege . The US urged the Ethiopian government to permit international human rights experts’ access to Ethiopia as a precondition before reinstating Ethiopia’s benefit under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
 
Tracey Jacobson (Amb.), Chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, told local officials the steps the government must take to regain AGOA eligibility, according to an email response the embassy’s press office sent to The Reporter.
 

The Ambassador who went to the Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP) this week said that one of these steps is to let international human rights experts into conflict-affected areas of northern Ethiopia.
 
The park houses international fashion and manufacturing brands such as PVH, H&M, and Tommy Hilfiger, among others. Global wholesalers like the Children’s Place also source from the park.
 
A substantial number of manufacturers from around the world relocated to the industrial parks in Ethiopia to export their products duty-free to the US market. However, international manufacturers were discouraged as a result of security threats and the war in northern Ethiopia, resulting in layoffs.
 
The Biden administration issued an executive order in January 2022 delisting Ethiopia from the AGOA benefit. The US government accused Ethiopia of violating the AGOA Statute, related to human rights breaches during the war between the federal government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which broke out in November 2020.
 
The delisting announcement at the time cited gross violations of internationally recognized human rights allegedly perpetrated by the Government of Ethiopia and other parties amid the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia. Still, Ethiopian officials have tried to convince the US government to bring Ethiopia back into the fold, especially after the Pretoria peace agreement ended the two-year war.
 
Jacobson’s remark gave hints that the reinstatement is unlikely to happen before Ethiopia meets the terms.
 
The UN established the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia last year in a bid to travel to the conflict areas in northern Ethiopia and investigate human rights breaches and war crimes. But the commissioners have been reporting that the Ethiopian government denied them entry to the conflict area.
 
On the other hand, the Ethiopian government has been strongly objecting to the commission’s creation, arguing it was formed to politicize the conflict in Ethiopia and hand-twist the government.
 
AGOA, the United States’ flagship commercial and development policy for sub-Saharan Africa, was established in 2000 and had been in effect for 15 years before the scheme was extended to 2025. The US government is currently considering additional alternatives.
 
“We’re looking to the 2025 expiration of AGOA and considering what is the best next step,” said Molly Phee on December 7, 2022, Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs. “We regret that AGOA trade preferences have not been utilized to the maximum. We think it’s important to improve our trade with Africa. So that’ll be part of the discussion.”
 
Whether or not the program is continued needs to be considered, according to Phee. “Is it continued in its current form? Is it modified in some way? And a third element we want to look at is how we can do better to engage with the sort of nascent African Continental Free Trade Area. Are there ways that we can use AGOA to support the development of the free trade area, which holds so much promise for the continent?”
 
Detailed discussion sessions are expected between US Trade Representative and trade counterparts from Africa, to determine the post-2025 AGOA.
 
“It will definitely be a robust discussion, and we’re really looking forward to the African ministers coming and giving us their firsthand assessment of what’s working, what’s not working, and what we need to do to update that program,” Phee added.

Popular posts from this blog

Ethiopia : Many civilians killed in Govt Drone attack in Amhara Region

-
Image
 A suspected air strike at the weekend in Ethiopia's Amhara region killed at least 26 people, a hospital official said on Monday, as a state-appointed rights group detailed widespread killings of civilians since fighting broke out this month. Federal forces managed late last week to push Fano militiamen out of most major towns in Amhara, but clashes continue in other parts of the region, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement.   The fighting, which has been fuelled by Fano accusations that the federal government is trying to weaken Amhara's defences, is Ethiopia's biggest security crisis since a two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region ended last November. Ethiopia's government denies the allegations by Fano, an informal militia that backed federal forces during the Tigray war. Spokespeople for the government, the military and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not respond to requests for comment on Monday about the suspected
Read more

Ethiopian Army clashs with the People of Amhara and Its militia Fano

-
Image
The war officially is started in the cities of Amhara region All roads in bahrdar debremarkos debrebirhan and other cities Gondar city have been ordered to be closed. At this time, the defense vehicle captured in Gondar city and the security guard army of the system are in this form of the Amara Fano in the Gondar Tedros Brigade army. A resident of the town of Kobo in northern Amhara said there were clashes between Fano fighters and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) in the Tekulesh area, a 40-minute drive outside Kobo, between 1am and 9am on Tuesday. The work of public and private organizations in Debremarkos has been suspended. Entrance and exit doors are closed. Ethiopia's military has clashed with fighters from a militia in the Amhara region, residents said on Wednesday, in a sharp escalation of a simmering feud between the two former allies. The Fano militia backed federal troops in a two-year civil war in the neighbouring Tigray region that ended last
Read more

Ethiopia : Civilians killed in ongoing Govt military Operation in Amhara region

-
Image
Civilians killed in ongoing PM Abiy Govt military Operation in Amhara region. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it is “closely monitoring” the ongoing “law enforcement campaign” in some areas of the Amhara regional state and its implications and effects on human rights. The rights commission also confirmed the presence of militarized conflict in parts of North Gonder, North Wollo and North Shewa zones of the regional state, and said that there are exchanges of fire and the presence of attacks supported by heavy weapons involving the federal the defense forces and local armed groups in the Shoa Robit area of North Shewa zone, in Armania, Antsoqia, Gemza and Majete localities. “As a result, it has been confirmed that there have been deaths, physical and property damage to civilians, and that the road from Desse to Addis Abeba has been closed at various times,” EHRC said. Furthermore, the Commission said that it has learned some members of opposition politic
Read more