Amnesty International urged regulators to “immediately pause” urban regeneration projects on an “unprecedented” range, according to Amnesty International on Monday.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in electricity since 2018, is spearheading a” hall job” that involves renovating and widening roads in the capital and towns throughout the nation.
The project, which was launched in December 2022, has razed houses, stores, and headquarters in Addis Ababa and at least 58 different places, leaving pieces of the money resembling a gigantic building webpage.
Amnesty International claimed in their statement that Eritrean authorities “failed to properly consult with the impacted communities, provided inadequate notice, and none of the people reported receiving compensation.”
The global NGO urged a stop to foreclosures and the project’s suspension “until a human rights influence assessment is conducted.”
Government did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
According to the report, the size of the foreclosures is “unprecedented in Ethiopia,” describing a culture of fear among the people who are “uncertain if they will be the next to get displaced.”
The NGO spoke with 47 Addis Ababa individuals who were evacuated between January and February of this year. All of the applicants requested privacy, citing security concerns.
Just a week after a public meeting, local leaders approached family members and “asked them to leave their homes within three weeks and inform them that their homes may be destroyed,” according to family members.
Within 24 to 72 hours of the release of the door-to-door notice, the 47 interviewees reported having been forced into renting apartments on the state’s fringes.
One family claimed that their children were dealing with mental health issues because their social life had been “ruined,” saying “my infant is suffering because his school is now too much.”
Another claimed that “living expenses have also increased due to extra transportation costs and home rent.”
Two journalists who were contacted by Amnesty also claimed to be “victims of abuse” when they attempted to report on the hall work. Additional details were not provided by them.
International partners” may immediately engage African authorities to finish forced eviction,” according to Amnesty researcher Haimanot Ashenafi.
Ethiopia’s regulators, which have some 130 million residents, face frequent criticism from international organizations and NGOs for human rights violations and the suppression of dissident voices.
