LGBTI PEOPLE’S RIGHTS Consensual same-sex sexual conduct ETHIOPIA remained a criminal offence. The High Court failed to issue its judgment Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia more than one year after hearing a petition Head of state: Sahle-Work Zewde from the Eswatini Sexual and Gender Head of government: Abiy Ahmed Ali Minorities advocacy group which challenged the Registrar of Companies’ 2019 decision to All parties to the armed conflict committed refuse its application to register as an serious human rights violations and abuses, organization. In rejecting the application, the including extrajudicial executions and Registrar had argued that consensual same- sexual violence against women and girls, sex sexual acts were “unlawful” and and millions of people were internally “unnatural”. displaced. Humanitarian aid was denied to ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL millions of people in Tigray. Ethnic violence RIGHTS claimed at least 1,500 lives. Police carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions in the FORCED EVICTIONS context of the state of emergency. Forced evictions, instigated by landowners Vaccination rates against Covid-19 who were taking steps to regain their land, remained low. continued to threaten the right to adequate BACKGROUND housing of hundreds of EmaSwati families. Marginalized groups such as widows, or The armed conflict in Tigray continued families where households were headed by throughout 2021 and spread to the children or women, were the most affected; neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara in they were more likely to have insufficient July. Armed violence also erupted in the means to challenge evictions. Benishangul-Gumuz, Amhara, Oromia, Afar Those under threat of imminent eviction and Somali regions. In November, the were particularly disadvantaged by the deeply government adopted a state of emergency flawed land governance system. Residents’ law with sweeping restrictions on human legal challenges to evictions had been rights. ongoing since 2014 in Gege and 2019 in VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL Sigombeni; they were continually shuffled HUMANITARIAN LAW between ministries, chiefdoms and courts, delaying justice. In July and September, All parties to the armed conflict perpetrated communities in Velezizweni and in Ntontonzi, violations of international humanitarian law respectively, were threatened with eviction, that amounted to war crimes, some of which affecting 130 families. may have amounted to crimes against humanity. The conflict resulted in thousands 1. Eswatini: Authorities Launch Brutal Assault on Human Rights with of civilian deaths mainly based on ethnic Crackdown on Dissent (Index: AFR 55/4247/2021), 7 June identity, destruction and looting of property, 2. “Eswatini: Authorities must drop trumped-up charges against MPs and displacement of communities. According to the UN, millions of people were internally and release them immediately and unconditionally”, 29 July 3. “Eswatini: Detained MPs must be immediately released and all displaced and more than 70,000 fled to Sudan. Amnesty International documented charges against them dropped”, 19 October extrajudicial executions of hundreds of people, rape, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, blockades on humanitarian assistance, and arrests and detentions based on ethnic profiling.1 Amnesty International Report 2021/22 163