Ethiopia: US raises alarm over Ethiopian rights abuses before IMF Visit

[Deeq A.]

Ethiopia: US raises alarm over Ethiopian rights abuses before #IMF Visit

The US expressed alarm about continuing human-rights abuses in Ethiopia that may impact its ability to secure funding from multilateral lenders, as the International Monetary Fund prepares a mission to the country to discuss a crucial bailout.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration has faced growing censure over tactics used by federal army forces to quell violent insurgencies across the country, with alleged extrajudicial killings and drone strikes leaving dozens of civilians dead.

“We continuously monitor the human rights situation in Ethiopia to assess whether there is a pattern of gross violations that would affect US support for international financial institution assistance under the International Financial Institutions Act,” the State Department said in an emailed response to questions. “The US government is alarmed by continuing reports of human rights abuses and violations in #Amhara and #Oromia which implicate the government and non-state actors.”

The timing of the criticism coincides with preparations by the IMF to send a delegation to #Addis_Abeba in the coming weeks to discuss an economic program and funding needed to fill an estimated $11.5 billion financing gap the government expects to face over the next four years. The US is the IMF’s largest shareholder and its most powerful board member, and previously used the IFIA to block IMF funding to Ethiopia during a war in Ethiopia’s northern #Tigray region two years ago.

https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-04/us-raises-alarm-over-ethiopian-rights-abuses-before-imf-visit?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=twitter

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