The Public International Law & Policy Group is serving as legal advisers to the Anuak of Ethiopia regarding their current conflict with the central government over the land in the Gambella region of Ethiopia.    

The Ethiopian government and highlander militias have undertaken a sustained campaign of violence and discrimination against the Anuak people of Ethiopia. Numerous reports from international organizations, NGOs, and media sources detail the sustained attacks, rapes, killings and destruction of Anuak villages that have taken place in Gambella. Raids have continued throughout the Anuak region during the past year, driving more than 10,000 Anuak into refugee camps in neighboring Sudan and Kenya.

   

In response to the Anuak Justice Council's request for assistance, the Public International Law & Policy Group:

• Is assisting the Anuak Justice Council in filing a claim with the International Criminal Court regarding crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Anuak people.
• Prepared a legal analysis explaining why the acts committed by the Ethiopian Government constitute crimes against humanity.   The analysis was based upon material presented in a recent Genocide Watch report.   The report can be found at: http://www.pilpg.org/publications/reports/Gambella_Genocide.pdf.

The Group is also in the process of assisting the Anuak Justice Council with preparations for future negotiations with the Ethiopian Government.  

 

This involves advising the Anuak on mechanisms to facilitate the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to the region, evaluating various models for establishing a viable security arrangement, assessing indigenous land rights for the Anuak and determining claims the Anuak people have regarding property restitution and reparations for property damage.  

 

Recently, Human Rights Watch issued a report highlighting the crimes against humanity being committed in Gambella.  

 

The report, titled Targeting the Anuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia's Gambella Region , argues that the continued Ethiopian military presence in Gambella strongly implies the existence of a state policy to destroy or weaken the Anuak community.   http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/24/ethiop10363.htm    

 

About the Public International Law & Policy Group   The Public International Law & Policy Group is a non-profit organization that operates as a global pro bono law firm providing free legal assistance to developing states and states in transition involved in conflicts.  

 

The Public International Law & Policy Group was founded with the support of the the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and is a U.N.-designated Non-Governmental Organization. PILPG receives funding from a number of sources, including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, United States Institute of Peace, the Ploughshares Fund, and the Compton Foundation.  

 

The Managing Board of PILPG includes:

Paul Williams - Executive Director,
Michael Scharf - Managing Director, and
James Hooper - Managing Director.
 

To learn more about the Public International Law & Policy Group, please visit our website at www.publicinternationallaw.org