Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the American aid agency USAID have been accused of ignoring evidence of human rights abuses allegedly linked to their support for a multibillion-dollar social services programme in Ethiopia.
A report published on Wednesday (17 July) by the US-based think tank the Oakland Institute details a long list of grievances presented to aid officials from the UK and US by communities in the Lower Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia. They claim they suffered intimidation, beatings, rape, forced evictions and other abuses as a result of the government’s controversial “villagisation” resettlement programme, which seeks to clear land to make way for commercial investments.
“Donor agencies were given highly credible first-hand accounts of serious human rights violations during their field investigation, and they have chosen to steadfastly ignore these accounts,” says the report, written by Will Hurd, an NGO worker who served as a translator for a team of DfID and USAID officials on a visit to the region in January 2012.
Read More: Madda Walaabuu Press
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