The 2021–2022 Ethiopian state of emergency was issued by the Ethiopian Government on 2 November 2021 and put into effect on 5 November by the

Ethiopian parliament The Federal Parliamentary Assembly () is the federal legislature of Ethiopia. It consists of two chambers: *The House of Federation (upper chamber) *The House of Peoples' Representatives (lower chamber) Created with the adoption of the Ethi ...

, which acted the bill from the executive government of the country into law. The six month state of emergency grants federal authorities "sweeping powers to arrest and detain critics, impose curfews and restrict the news media" as well as conscript any citizen over 18 to fight in the Tigray War. The emergency was lifted on 15 February 2022 in a vote by the

Ethiopian Parliament The Federal Parliamentary Assembly () is the federal legislature of Ethiopia. It consists of two chambers: *The House of Federation (upper chamber) *The House of Peoples' Representatives (lower chamber) Created with the adoption of the Ethi ...

three weeks after the cabinet of Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali (; ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who is the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018 and the leader of the Prosperity Party since 2019. He rose through the ranks of government via the Information Networ ...

approved of lifting the emergency.

Background

The

Ethiopian National Defense Force The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) () is the combined military force of Ethiopia. ENDF is consisted of 10 command forces which is controlled by the Chief of General Staff. Commanders of the Military Supreme Commander – Taye At ...

(ENDF) suffered a defeat in June 2021 when forced to withdraw from the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

in the north of Ethiopia, and several thousand of its soldiers were taken captive. The state of emergency in November was declared after

Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defence Forces (TDF; ), colloquially called the ''Tigray Army'' (), is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enf ...

(TDF) took

Dessie Dessie (; also spelled Dese or Dessye) is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it sits at a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 metres above sea level. Dessie ...

and

Kombolcha Kombolcha () is a town and district in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1842 and 1915 meters above sea level. Some guide books describe K ...

, "strategically located towns" on a north-south highway leading to the capital

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

Legal creation

The House of Peoples Representatives approved the state of emergency proclamation that was referred to it by the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers declared the State of Emergency 5/14 in relation to armed conflict involving the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a ter ...

(TPLF) in relation to the Tigray War and the

Oromo Liberation Army The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA; , WBO) is an armed opposition group active in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The OLA consists primarily of former armed members of the pre-peace deal Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) who refused to disarm out of skep ...

(OLA) in relation to the

Oromo conflict The Oromo conflict or Oromia conflict is a protracted conflict between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Government of Ethiopia, Ethiopian government. The Oromo Liberation Front formed to fight the Ethiopian Empire to liberate the Oromo ...

Actions

Effects of the state of emergency in early November 2021 included mass detentions of "anyone of Tigrayan descent, many of whom had no ties to the rebels or even affinity for them," including "mothers with children and the elderly". Laetitia Bader of

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

described the state of emergency as "'legitimizing and legalizing unlawful practices' and creating a 'real climate of fear'. Online hate speech increased in November. Journalists, politicians, and pro-federal-government activists called ethnic Tigrayans "traitors", called for neighbours to "weed" them, and called for authorities to detain ethnic Tigrayans in "concentration camps".

References

State of Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

State of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

Democratic backsliding in Ethiopia November 2021 in Ethiopia December 2021 in Ethiopia January 2022 in Ethiopia February 2022 in Ethiopia 2021 in law 2022 in law {{DEFAULTSORT:2021-2022 Ethiopian state of emergency

Background

Legal creation

Actions

See also

References