The Duty of the Ethiopian State to Prevent Displacement and Protect IDPs: Case Study in SNNPR
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Date
2022-04
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AAU
Abstract
People are forcefully displaced from their habitual residence in Ethiopia due to various causes. Displaced
persons are vulnerable to human rights violations such as their right to life, food, shelter, physical security,
not being sexually abused, and not being separated from their families. To this effect displaced persons
need special protection, therefore, the international and regional laws protect IDPs by imposing the
primary obligation on a state to prevent internal displacement and provide protection to IDPs.
The GP and Kampala convention provides a legal standard by imposing an obligation on the state in
preventing internal displacement and in protecting IDPs. The three pillars of state obligations are the
obligation to respect, which requires the state to refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment
of human rights of IDPs, obligation to protect, which requires States to protect IDPs against human rights
abuses, like being protected from arbitrary displacement, and obligation to fulfill which oblige States to
take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights of IDPs, which includes the duty to
provide immediate humanitarian assistance, durable solution, basic needs, and social service, as well as the
obligation to provide effective legal frameworks and legal remedy both in case of civil and criminal
matters.
The case of the Gedeo-West Guji and Meskan-Mareko displacement that happened in April 2018 and
September 2018 respectively result in the violation of several human rights of IDPs during and after
displacements like the right to life, physical integrity, not to be arbitrary displaced, survival, and
development, to psychological support, to humanitarian assistance, to education and the right to health.
The Ethiopian government has failed to comply with its obligation to prevent internal displacement in
SNNPR specifically in the case of Gedeo-West Guji and Meskan- Mareko CID. Because the government
did not take any preventive measures to avoid the causes of the conflicts. Regarding the Ethiopian state's
obligation to protect IDPs who were displaced from the two places, the Ethiopian state did not enact legal
frameworks that enable the protection of IDPs and provide a legal remedy for IDPs both in case of civil
and criminal matters. The protection provided for Gedeo-West Guji and Meskan-Mareko CID IDPs from
violation of their human rights was inadequate and the humanitarian assistance provided for IDPs was
insufficient and the durable solutions provided by the government were late.