Ethiopia is drafting transitional justice laws, including the formation of a Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) to address international crimes. A dedicated international cooperation unit is essential for the SPO to effectively locate and prosecute offenders beyond Ethiopia’s borders, engage in extradition processes, and foster collaboration with international stakeholders. Historical challenges underscore the need for this unit to ensure accountability, enhance credibility, and provide a lasting impact on Ethiopia’s judicial system.
Ethiopia is in the process of drafting transitional justice laws, aimed at addressing past and ongoing human rights abuses through a framework of criminal accountability, truth-seeking, reparations, and institutional reform. A crucial aspect of these laws includes the establishment of a Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for grave offenses such as genocide and war crimes.
The SPO will operate beyond Ethiopia’s jurisdiction, requiring it to identify and prosecute offenders who may reside outside the country. This task is particularly complex, as traditional methods for locating such individuals may be ineffective. To overcome this, the draft legislation permits the SPO to incentivize informants to assist in gathering vital intelligence on these fugitives.
The challenges faced by the SPO include securing the extradition of offenders. Extradition requests may be denied based on various legal grounds, necessitating that the SPO engage third-party states to prosecute suspected individuals under universal jurisdiction or similar legal principles. This inter-state cooperation is vital for successful prosecutions, emphasizing the need for collaboration with international entities.
In recognition of these challenges, the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention had been adopted in 2024 to facilitate cross-border cooperation in prosecuting international crimes, mirroring the objectives of the SPO. However, despite existing specialized divisions, the SPO notably lacks a dedicated international cooperation unit, which is critical for fulfilling its mandate effectively.
There are several compelling reasons for the establishment of this unit. First, the new SPO’s mandate includes investigating non-Ethiopian perpetrators, particularly Eritreans accused of committing atrocities during the Tigray conflict. Past cooperation failures, especially with the Eritrean government during previous prosecutions, underline the necessity of an international unit to gather evidence and promote accountability for these offenders.
Second, Ethiopia’s historical difficulties regarding extradition illustrate the urgent need for a dedicated international cooperation division within the SPO. The Dergue-era trials had a significant number of defendants tried in absentia as cooperation gaps persisted, prompting calls for a more robust mechanism to secure extraditions.
Moreover, without a specialized unit, there is a risk of repeating past mistakes, where critical extradition opportunities were missed amid a lack of cooperation. The SPO has also not succeeded in prosecuting fugitives abroad despite their conviction in Ethiopian trials, which emphasizes the need for reform in current legal frameworks regarding extradition.
As the new SPO will potentially deal with a larger number of accused individuals due to the transitional justice process, which may have allowed many offenders to escape, the importance of an international cooperation unit becomes even more pronounced. This unit would ensure a structured approach to securing extraditions and facilitating international legal cooperation.
Lastly, the existing Justice Ministry’s international cooperation unit cannot meet the demands of the new SPO due to its subordinate status to the executive branch, possibly compromising the latter’s required independence. The absence of a dedicated international cooperation unit within the SPO presents a significant void in Ethiopia’s transitional justice framework, risking its overall credibility.
Ultimately, the establishment of this independent unit would enhance the justice delivery system for international crimes and positively impact Ethiopia’s judicial landscape, fostering greater expertise and capability among prosecutors beyond the SPO’s immediate mandate.
In conclusion, the establishment of a dedicated international cooperation unit within Ethiopia’s proposed Special Prosecutor’s Office is imperative for the effective pursuit of justice in international crimes. It would not only ensure accountability for non-Ethiopian perpetrators but also facilitate cooperation with foreign states to overcome historical challenges associated with extradition. By doing so, Ethiopia can enhance its judicial credibility and capability to address past atrocities comprehensively and effectively.
Original Source: www.eurasiareview.com
