will this one stick?
and an entire sector immobilized
Hi there,
I was at the Africa Media Festival last week. It was the festival’s third edition, a powerful space filled with African media practitioners, journalists, entrepreneurs, and one special effects make-up artist (?). For me, it has achieved what the festival’s curator, Christine Mungai, said they aimed for in her opening speech: ‘a space for deeper thinking’.
Hannah Ajakaiye from FactsMatterNG, talked about how using local languages was the way they made strides in fighting disinformation in Nigeria, by using Pidgin English.
This is going to be a very real challenge for us here in Ethiopia, as we draw ever closer to the general elections in June 2026. (What could be an effective way to brace for the storm ahead? And how can we do that safely, without upsetting any actors and jeopardizing the safety of even more people?)
My favorite session was the one organized by The New Humanitarian, on ethical reporting in crisis times. As a journalist reporting on conflict, the questions raised here deeply resonated with me: what are the lines between reporting and advocacy? Are we doing fact-based reporting or truth-based reporting? And perhaps, most importantly, what do we owe the people we are reporting on and for? Empathy, at the very least. The session left me with more questions than answers (which I was comforted to learn was the purpose).
It made me think about the trauma support for reporters who cover these difficult stories, often within their communities. I have learned that there’s not enough counselling that can help you not feel the pain of seeing and reporting on the tragedies of your community, just the tools for you to keep moving from that space of overwhelming sadness and heartbreak.
Similarly, the discussion in this session provided guiding questions that we need to keep asking ourselves as we continue our work as journalists, and not a definitive solution for how we should do our work (we need to have these discussions in the Ethiopian media space!).
During the sessions, we were also reminded about the devastating impact of the war in Sudan. Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, 20 journalists have been killed. Tens of thousands of Sudanese have since made their way to Ethiopia seeking refuge (I have written updates about how challenging that has been for them here, from facing violence here in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, to ridiculous visa costs they’re required to pay to stay in the country).
There was also a session on influencers, and the question of who is a journalist (a question that gets brought up again and again in circles here). There’s a point to be made around the rigorous ethical considerations and checks in place (hi, editors!) that set journalists apart (hopefully), but I’m starting to think that this may not be the right question to ask (‘journalists and news organisations are often eclipsed by news creators and other influencers, even when it comes to news’). Perhaps, media literacy?
My name is Maya Misikir, and I’m a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba. I write Sifter, this newsletter where I send out the week’s top 5 stories on human rights and news in Ethiopia.
Now, to the news.
Civic space: high on the rollercoaster ride
In November last year, the Authority for Civil Society Organizations, the government regulatory body, suspended three prominent human rights organizations.
The basis for suspension cited included, ‘lack of political neutrality’ and ‘engaging against the national interest’. A few weeks later, the suspensions were lifted, but not for long.
Two of the three organizations were suspended again, a few days later. Before the month of December was done, two more human rights organizations were added to that list.
On Monday, March 3, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission announced that after ‘engaging key stakeholders to resolve the issue’, the suspensions have now been lifted.
While this is great news for the ‘civic space and the enjoyment of freedom of association in Ethiopia’, I have shared concerns on the ‘chilling effect’ of these suspensions. These organizations have had to stop all their work in the meantime, their accounts frozen, unable to pay their employees, and discontinue support to vulnerable communities across the country.
This also affects the work of journalists, like myself, who rely on their human rights reports, on places and events that are inaccessible to us, because of resource limitations or security issues. This is to say nothing of how the actors in the space now have to walk on eggshells while doing their work.
The statement from the Commission, in English, here.
Funding: how will the sector survive this one?
This is a continuing update on how the freeze on US foreign aid assistance is affecting Ethiopians. Past updates have been on the overall health sector, the national HIV response, and food aid).
Nearly all civil society actors are ‘facing serious disruptions’, says a story by The Reporter, as, ‘85 percent of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ethiopia have paused operations’ following the freeze orders.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Large CSOs in Ethiopia used to access up to 70 percent of their funding from USAID. Now they’re in crisis,” a representative of a prominent CSO told The Reporter, speaking anonymously. “We’ve suspended five of our projects due to the aid suspension.”
This affects CSOs working on supplying clean water to internally displaced people (there are more than 4.5 million internally displaced people in the country), and ‘major United Nations health programs’.
Work permits for international staff working for NGOs have also been suspended; an order that ‘came directly from the Office of the Prime Minister’, according to the story.
The full story on The Reporter, here.
Security: we don’t know her (XXXIX)
The conflict in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, past its one-and-a-half-year mark, has caused devastation in the region. You can find all 38 related posts on that in chronological order, since August 2023, here.
The fighting between the federal government and the region’s informal militia, Fano, has caused damage that will need, ‘$10 billion in recovery funding’ for ‘humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts’.
Here’s an excerpt from the story on Addis Standard:
Several reports from Addis Standard have highlighted the worsening humanitarian conditions with mass killings, displacements, food shortages, and disruptions to essential services.
The region remains one of Ethiopia’s most affected by internal strife, further complicating efforts to deliver aid and rebuild vital infrastructure.
The call for this support is for international organizations to, ‘restore critical infrastructure, which cannot be covered by the current federal budget allocation’.
The full story on Addis Standard, here.
Education: singling out a town
Thousands went out on the streets of Ethiopia’s Tigray region to protest a ban on Muslim girls in January. The ban, which was imposed earlier in the month, required Muslim girls to remove their hijabs (head scarves) in order to sit for their exams.
A court has now dismissed this case against the schools, citing that it has no authority over this issue and that it should be, ‘handled through ‘mediation or administrative proceedings’, according to a story by Addis Standard.
Here’s an excerpt:
Muslim students in Axum town, located in the Central Zone of Tigray, have been protesting the hijab ban, arguing that it has barred them from attending school and violated their constitutional rights to education and religious freedom.
The case was initially brought to court by the Tigray Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, which argued that the ban contravened these rights.
This decision by the schools was initially suspended by a court in Axum, but despite this ruling, students were still not allowed on school grounds. Some students were detained, and harassed by teachers and police.
So, what happened now? The judge who gave the initial ruling has been replaced and the new one has thrown out the case.
Meanwhile, Muslim students in other cities in the region continue to attend schools without facing any issues.
The full story, on Addis Standard, here.
Human rights: Eritrean troops need to leave
Eritrean troops fought alongside the Ethiopian federal government (and regional forces from the country’s Amhara region) during the Tigray war, which was active from November 2020 to November 2022.
In November 2022, when the Pretoria peace deal was brokered, it ended the war. More than two years later, Eritrean troops, which have been accused of war crimes long after active fighting stopped, are still moving in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Last week, the UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, said that the troops are still, ‘committing violations, including abductions, rape, property looting, and arbitrary arrests’.
Here’s an excerpt from the statement:
In the current context, there is no likely prospect that the domestic judicial system will hold perpetrators accountable for the violations committed in the context of the Tigray conflict and in other cases…
In Ethiopia’s Transitional Justice Policy, expected to ‘deal with the injustices of the country’s past’ including the Tigray war, the role of international experts is limited to, ‘advisors and capacity builders’.
Civic actors have asked for a more involved role as there is no comprehensive legal framework in Ethiopia’s domestic laws for the prosecution of war crimes.
For an in-depth look at the Transitional Justice Policy, its drafting process, why it is important, and where it is headed, check out an earlier post I wrote, here.
The full statement from the UN, here.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
In the meantime, feel free to share this with anyone you think can benefit from keeping up with what’s going on in Ethiopia.
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