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Ethiopia

Omo River in 2012, before the completion of the Gibe III Dam. Credit: The Oakland Institute

Publications

Engineering Ethnic Conflict report cover

Engineering Ethnic Conflict: The Toll of Ethiopia's Plantation Development on Suri People

Recently dubbed “Africa’s Lion” (in allusion to the discourse around “Asian Tigers”), Ethiopia is celebrated for its steady economic growth, including a growing number of millionaires compared to other African nations. However, as documented in previous research by the Oakland Institute, the Ethiopian government’s “development strategy,” is founded on its policy of leasing millions of hectares (ha) of land to foreign investors. Implementation of...

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Ignoring Abuse in Ethiopia: DFID and USAID in the Lower Omo Valley

Southern Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley is one of the most culturally and biologically diverse areas in the world, yet the Ethiopian government is transforming more than 375,000 hectares (1450 sq. miles) of the region into industrial-scale plantations for sugar and other monocrops. A vast resettlement scheme for the local ethnic groups is accompanying these plans, as 260,000 local people from 17 ethnic groups who live in the Lower Omo and around...

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Development Aid to Ethiopia: Overlooking Violence, Marginalization, and Political Repression

Ethiopia is a locus of international attention in the Horn of Africa due to both its consistently high rates of economic growth and for its continued problems with widespread hunger and poverty. The nation is also significant for being among the most dependent on foreign aid. Topping the worldwide list of countries receiving aid from the US, UK, and the World Bank, the nation has been receiving $3.5 billion on average from international donors...

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Omo: Local Tribes Under Threat

The Lower Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia is internationally renowned for its unique cultural and ecological landscape. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Lower Omo Valley contains two national parks and is home to approximately 200,000 agro-pastoralists made up of some of Africa’s most unique and traditional ethnic groups, including the Kwegu, Bodi, Suri, Mursi, Nyangatom, Hamer, Karo, and Dassenach, among others.

Unheard Voices: The Human Rights Impact of Land Investments on Indigenous Communities in Gambella

Millions of acres of Ethiopia’s most fertile land are being made available to investors, often in long-term leases and at giveaway prices. Although proponents of these investments call them “win-win” deals, the reality proves much different. To make way for agricultural investment, and through its so-called villagization program, the Ethiopian government has forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of indigenous people from their lands. This...

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Blog

European Union Bankrolls Deceitful Land Project in Ethiopia

Saturday, July 30, 2016 Alice Martin-Prével

The European Union and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development are funding a €3.8 million ($4.2 million) agricultural initiative in Ethiopia. "Support to Responsible Agricultural Investment" (S2RAI), launched in March 2016, is a three-year long project focused on two western regions of Ethiopia: Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz. According to documents made public at the project-launching workshop in Bishoftu on July 15-...

Failing to Address Land Rights Violations Caused by Its Own Programs, the World Bank Launches Its 17th Conference on Land and Poverty

Monday, March 14, 2016 Alice Martin-Prével

The 17th World Bank “Conference on Land and Poverty,” bringing together governments, academics, corporations, and NGOs, gets underway on March 14, 2016, in Washington DC. Last March, members of the Our Land Our Business campaign denounced the Conference as a sham. The Bank holds an annual conference on land and poverty whereas its policies such as the business indicators facilitate land grabs by forcing developing countries to adopt...

Report from the Indian-Ethiopian Civil Society Summit on Land Investments New Delhi, February 5-7, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

The Oakland Institute, in partnership with Indian civil society groups Indian Social Action Forum, Kalpavriksh, and Centre for Social Development, organized a discussion forum on issues pertaining to land rights in Ethiopia and India in New Delhi from February 5 to 7, 2013.

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Press Releases and Public Statements

Ethiopian Government’s Promise to Release Political Prisoners & Close Notorious Jail Meaningless Without Political Freedoms

Les Anuak condamnent les efforts visant à reporter le départ d’Éthiopie de Karuturi

Anuak Condemn Attempts to Delay Karuturi’s Exit from Ethiopia

After Irreechaa Tragedy, the US Must Take Action for Human Rights in Ethiopia

Miracle or Mirage? Manufacturing Hunger and Poverty in Ethiopia

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Media

How Africa’s Gibe III Dam is Ravaging Ethiopia’s Indigenous Population

NS Energy

State projects leave tens of thousands of lives in the balance in Ethiopia – study

The Guardian

Dam in Ethiopia has wiped out indigenous livelihoods, report finds

Mongabay

Ethiopian Indigenous Leader Okello Akway Ochalla is Free!

Norway News

UD bekrefter: Norsk politisk fange løslatt i Etiopia

NRK

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Documentation and Contracts

Daniel Agricultural Development Enterprise Agreement (Amharic)

Dr Tamiel Hagdu Agreement (Amharic)

Hunan Dafengyuan Agriculture Co. LTD Agreement (English)

Kehedam Agreement (Amharic)

Keystone Agreement (Amharic)

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