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1 [1] (November 27, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthzzbzc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressional Research Service I on j th legislative debate s 'ice 19 4 Updated November 27, 2018 Ethiopia Ethiopia is Africa's fastest growing economy, its second most populous country, and its oldest independent state. It plays a key leadership role in the region. For the United States, Ethiopia is an important development and regional security partner, but it has also been a source of concern regarding human rights and political freedoms. Relations have centered on efforts to alleviate humanitarian crises and endemic poverty in the country as well as to respond to instability and terrorist threats in the region. Ethiopia has been plagued by recurrent drought and food insecurity, and the United States is its leading humanitarian aid donor. Ethiopia hosts the African Union (AU) and is the world's largest troop contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations. Its peacekeepers play a lead role along the volatile Sudan- South Sudan border and in the U.N. Missions in Darfur and South Sudan. Ethiopia also plays a critical role in efforts to counter the Al Qaeda-linked group Al Shabaab in Somalia. As a member of the East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Ethiopia has hosted various regional peace negotiations. It hosts one of Africa's largest refugee populations: almost a million refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. Ethnic and political tensions have spurred concerns about Ethiopia's stability in recent years. A violent crackdown on protests in its populous Oromia and Anhara regions that began in late 2015 resulted in hundreds of deaths. The government placed additional restrictions on expression and assembly under a state of emergency imposed from October 2016 to August 2017; over 20,000 people were detained. The protests quieted briefly but surged again in late 2017, increasing pressure on the government. Ethnic violence also flared in parts of the country: over two million people have been displaced by conflict since mid-2017. The government pledged reforms and in early 2018 released hundreds of jailed regime critics. The pace of change quickened after the election of a new prime minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, who has commenced political and economic reforms and diplomatic efforts that could be transformative for the country. Resistance from hardliners and simmering ethnic tensions pose potential challenges to his reform agenda. Background Diplomatic relations between the United States and Ethiopia, one of two African countries that avoided colonial rule, date back over one hundred years. In the 20th century, Ethiopia's politics were largely dominated by three leaders. Emperor Haile Selassie ruled from 1930 to 1974, when he was deposed by a socialist military junta known as the Derg. Led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, the Derg was implicated in massive human rights abuses and policies that contributed to a famine in which hundreds of thousands died. In 1991, the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of ethnically based opposition groups, overthrew the Derg and took power. Figure I. Ethiopia: Key Facts Source: CRS map. Facts from CIA and IMF reference databases. EPRDF leader Meles Zenawi, head of state from 1991 until his death in 2012, was a powerful figure in Ethiopian and regional politics. He was credited with spearheading Ethiopia's rapid economic growth over the past 15 years. However, as leader of both the EPRDF (now an alliance of four ethno-regional parties) and one of its components, the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), he also was accused by critics of stifling dissent and ensuring that his minority Tigray ethnic group dominated the government. Current Political Context Meles' successor, Hailemariam Desalegn, surprised many when he resigned in early 2018, to pave the way for reforms. Abiy Ahmed was elected in late March to replace him, both as EPRDF chairman and as prime minister. At 42, he is Africa's youngest leader. An ethnic Oromo and military veteran, Abiy has announced a range of initiatives to reduce divisions, both within the county and with neighboring Eritrea. Even many critics of the EPRDF have responded with cautious optimism to the release of hundreds of political opponents from prison, changes to the leadership of the security services, an end to the state of emergency, and Abiy's outreach to opposition groups. Civic activists argue, though, that substantive reforms are needed before elections, scheduled for 2020, are held. A tradition of authoritarian rule has impeded participatory democracy in Ethiopia, despite regular elections since the overthrow of the Derg. The EPRDF has dominated elections since 1995. Polls in 2005 were marred by violence, with an estimated 200 people killed by security forces during post-election protests and the detention of thousands of opposition members, journalists, and civic activists. In 2010, the EPRDF won 99.6% of the votes in elections that were generally peaceful but deemed unfair by U.S. and European monitors and governments. The EPRDF won all 546 legislative seats and all but 21 of 1,987 regional state council seats in the most recent polls, in 2015. AU observers called them technically satisfactory but noted concerns with laws limiting civic participation. www.crs.gov 1 7-570

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