CAT/C/ETH/CO/1
The State party should include torture as an offence in its Criminal Code,
which must be punishable by appropriate penalties taking into account its
grave nature, and incorporate a definition of torture that covers all of the
elements contained in article 1 of the Convention. By naming and defining the
crime of torture in accordance with the Convention and distinct from other
crimes, the Committee considers that States parties will directly advance the
Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture by, inter alia, alerting
everyone, including perpetrators, victims and the public to the special gravity
of the crime of torture, and by improving the deterrent effect of the prohibition
itself.
Widespread use of torture
10.
The Committee is deeply concerned about numerous, ongoing and consistent
allegations concerning the routine use of torture by the police, prison officers and other
members of the security forces, as well as the military, in particular against political
dissidents and opposition party members, students, alleged terrorist suspects and alleged
supporters of insurgent groups such as the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and
the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). It is concerned about credible reports that such acts
frequently occur with the participation, at the instigation or with the consent of
commanding officers in police stations, detention centres, federal prisons, military bases
and in unofficial or secret places of detention. The Committee also takes note of consistent
reports that torture is commonly used during interrogation to extract confessions when the
suspect is deprived of fundamental legal safeguards, in particular access to legal counsel
(art. 1, 2, 4, 11 and 15).
The Committee urges the State party to take immediate and effective measures
to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture and to ensure that
torture is not used by law enforcement personnel, including by unambiguously
reaffirming the absolute prohibition of torture and publicly condemning
practices of torture, especially by the police, prison officers and members of the
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), accompanied by a clear warning
that anyone committing such acts or otherwise complicit or participating in
torture will be held personally responsible before the law for such acts and will
be subject to criminal prosecution and appropriate penalties.
Impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment
11.
The Committee is deeply concerned at numerous consistent reports about the State
party’s persistent failure to investigate allegations of torture and prosecute perpetrators,
including members of ENDF and military or police commanders. In this regard, it notes the
absence of information on cases where soldiers and police or prison officers were
prosecuted, sentenced or subjected to disciplinary sanctions for having committed acts or
torture or ill-treatment. The Committee is also concerned about the reported exercise of
police functions by ENDF in the Somali Regional State and by private militia groups (arts.
2, 4, 12, 13 and 16).
The State party should ensure that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment
are promptly and impartially investigated, and that the perpetrators are
prosecuted and convicted in accordance with the gravity of the acts, as required
by article 4 of the Convention, without prejudice to appropriate disciplinary
actions and sanctions.
The State party should ensure that law enforcement functions are exercised by
the police rather than ENDF, including in areas of armed conflict where no
state of emergency has been declared. The State party should prevent the
3