Anuak Justice Council

Read a collection of Obang Metho's speeches and essays

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

January 30, 2010
The new breadbasket of the world?
The Irish Times
As swathes of their country’s land is leased, cleared and prepared for food production by foreign companies, Ethiopians are divided over whether this constitutes ‘agro-colonialism’ or much-needed development, writes MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Affairs Correspondent read...

January 23, 2010
Notice to Ethiopians: You are Being Evicted from Ethiopia — You are Unwanted!
Imagine this notice being posted in Ethiopia:
People of Ethiopia:
You are hereby warned; you are being given notice of your eviction from the country. You are no longer welcome here. Find a new place to live. We do not care where. All we want is your land, water and resources. They are no longer yours; but now are ours. If you resist, you will suffer the consequences. On the other hand, if you are willing to become part of a neo-slave labor force or to silently give up any claims to anything, you may stay as long as you are useful and compliant. We and our partners stand to make millions, if not billions, from this new economic investment and we will tolerate NO interference from you!
Truly not yours,
The Anti-Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF government of the few elite and entitled read...

December 13 , 2009
Remembering the Anuak Massacre of December 13, 2003 - Do Not Rest Until Justice Comes to Ethiopia
On December 13-15, 2009, it will be six years since the massacre of 424 Anuak in Gambella, Ethiopia followed by nearly two more years of widespread extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, imprisonment, disappearances and destruction. By the end of this time, another 1500 Anuak from this very tiny ethnic group, numbering less than 100,000 worldwide and less than .01% of the Ethiopian population, were killed.

Wondering what thoughts were on the minds of the Anuak in Gambella at this anniversary of their darkest of days or what changes they might have seen during these years, we in the Anuak Justice Council contacted some of the Anuak to ask this question. One Anuak man said, “Thank you for asking me what has changed in the six years. The answer is not a lot. We still do not know where the bones of our people are, not one single killer has been brought to justice and we still are not free.” read...

Listen to Voice of America radio broadcast. (Amharic)

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.