Anuak Justice Council

Read a collection of articles and essays from the AJC

Open Letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. - Anuak Justice Council, July 18, 2007

Open Letter to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, - Anuak Justice Council, February 20, 2007

Obang Metho addresses the Annual Policy Conference of the Group of 78, Ottawa, Canada, - Anuak Justice Council, September 29, 2006

Obang Metho testifies to the Parliament of the European Union, Anuak Justice Council, May 17, 2006

Testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, Anuak Justice Council, March 28, 2006

For crimes against humanity, a claim has been filed against the Ethiopian government at International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, Anuak Justice Council, June 13, 2005

Ethiopia: Crimes Against Humanity in Gambella Region - Human Rights Watch, March 24, 2005

April 18, 2012
TPLF/EPRDF Defense Forces Brazenly Murdering Innocent People in Gambella in Broad Daylight
Today, in Gambella, there is little to no accountability for TPLF/EPRDF Defense Forces who are committing rising numbers of human rights crimes against the people of the region. It used to be that murders, beatings and torture were carried out secretly in the bush or in the rural areas, but now there is no security even in the middle of Gambella town for any but those carrying the guns. As these criminal acts against the unarmed civilians in Gambella are being so easily dismissed by authorities, it is increasingly clear they are actually being condoned or promoted by higher ranking officers and government officials—all the way up to Meles. read..

March 27, 2012
Civilians Under Attack as Human Rights Violations Soar in Gambella
We in the SMNE call on human rights organizations, civic groups, media groups and donor countries to focus their attention on the Gambella region as the number of human rights violations—assaults, arrests, torture and disappearances—in the region are soaring due to an intense crackdown on the local people by TPLF/EPRDF troops. read...

March 7, 2012
Open Letter of thanks to the International Criminal Court
The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia and the Anuak Justice Council sincerely thank you for responding so quickly and affirmatively to our petition that asks ICC Prosecutor, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to give consideration to opening an active investigation into the genocide, crimes against humanity and other human rights crimes directed against the Anuak people of the Gambella region of Ethiopia in concordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). read... (pdf)

February 29, 2012
PBS Newshour
Ethiopia: A Battle for Land and Water
A controversial resettlement program in Ethiopia is the latest battleground in the global race to secure prized farmland and water. Correspondent Cassandra Herrman reports as part of the Food for 9 Billion series, a NewsHour partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting, Homelands Productions and Marketplace. read and watch...

February 19, 2012
Cultural Survival
Ethiopia: Stop Land Grabbing and Restore Indigenous Peoples' Lands
Ethiopia receives more foreign aid than any other African nation—upwards of $3 billion a year. Western governments see Ethiopia as a strategic bulwark in the “global fight against terrorism” and point to its progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, an international program to end poverty and hunger. read ...

More Information for Ethiopia: Stop Land Grabbing and Restore Indigenous Peoples’ Lands read ...

January 18, 2012
The People of Gambella Have Been Heard
(Vancouver) - The Anuak Justice Council commends Human Rights Watch for their in-depth investigation of the Government of Ethiopia’s massive resettlement program in Gambella State and its impact on indigenous populations, among which are the Anuak who have lived in the region for centuries. read ...

The Anuak Justice Council, a 501(c)(3) organization, is a representative voice for the Anuak community worldwide. Our mission is to advocate peacefully for the rights and security of the Anuak wherever they live.

The Anuak are a small minority group in Ethiopia and Sudan, residing mainly in the Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia. They have been the predominant landowners in the region for several generations, enjoying relative peace and coexisting with other minority groups, although tensions with the Ethiopian government over land ownership have existed for decades. The current regime in Ethiopia has not acted favorably toward the Anuak and over the last decade has become an increasingly oppressive reality for the Anuak.

On December 13, 2003, members of the Ethiopian military and other ethnic groups massacred more than 400 people in the town of Gambella. Since that time, the Anuak have continued to suffer genocide and other on-going crimes against humanity.

In the months following the December 2003 massacre, many Anuak expatriates felt scattered and powerless in their efforts to raise awareness of the oppression against their people and to help family members in immediate danger. Compounding this frustration was the lack of coverage of this tragedy by the international press.

As the atrocities continued, the urgent need for an organized voice for the Anuak became apparent, and in response to that need the Anuak Justice Council was formed. Representatives from the AJC have presented testimony to governmental bodies in the UN, the US, Canada and the European Union.

The AJC has also formed partnerships with international law groups to bring legal pressure to bear against the current Ethiopian regime in international court, and through contacts with other human rights organizations has been instrumental in initiating extensive investigations into the alleged crimes of genocide. Noteworthy among those investigations is the report by Human Rights Watch, a report that strongly implicates the Ethiopian government as a perpetrator of genocide.

The hope of the Anuak Justice Council is that with the help of pressure from the international community, a process of negotiation with the Ethiopian government can begin that would lead to a peaceful solution to the violence in Gambella, and ultimately to a safe and secure homeland to which the scattered Anuak can return.