The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has disclosed that administrative bodies and security forces in the Oromia region have forcibly detained numerous children, including children and individuals with mental illnesses, in order to recruit them into the defense forces.

EHRC’s report, released on Thursday, December 6, 2024, revealed that these authorities have been pressuring families to pay substantial amounts of money to secure the release of the unlawfully detained individuals, who did not meet the Ministry of Defense’s recruitment criteria.

In Shashemene, a location specifically monitored by EHRC, it was confirmed that teenagers claiming to be under the age of 18 were being placed in detention facilities under the false pretense of “military training”.

Out of the 32 individuals detained in a facility in the Hallelu district of Shashemene city, 14 were aged between 15 and 16, with one as young as 11 years old.

Two 15-year-old 5th-grade students, who were taken from school and brought into the detention hall with their school uniforms, reported that they had been held there for two weeks. At the same center, 13 individuals over the age of 18 were arrested by police and militia members without consent, stating that they were kept in the detention center for over a week with no means of leaving.

Individuals apprehended on their way home from work, including one person apprehended while buying dinner for their son, shared their accounts with EHRC. They confirmed that members of the militia in the region were detaining youths under the guise of recruiting for the Defense Forces and subsequently coercing their families to pay for their release.

EHRC noted in its report that extortion practices were widespread, notably in Adama and its environs. A mother of a 15-year-old child, held in a grain warehouse in Adama city’s Angatu district, informed EHRC that most people detained by the militias asked their families to pay ransoms ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 birr.

“The state government’s administrative and security bodies, who illegally detained individuals, including children, and extorted money from them, must be held accountable through a thorough investigation,” emphasized EHRC in yesterday’s report.

EHRC stated that they have initiated an investigation after receiving information that regional administration and security bodies in various areas of Oromia have been forcibly detaining people, including children, and demanding money for their release under the guise of recruiting them for the defense army.

The report was compiled based on discussions with individuals in detention centers, their families, as well as with militia and police institutions, from the state down to the kebele level. Regional peace and security offices, as well as government officials in Jimma and Shashemene cities, have acknowledged the issue, stated EHRC, citing the officials they spoke to in the report.

The report mentioned that these authorities are now inspecting detention facilities and plan to take action against government officials and militia members who engaged in these activities. Additionally, EHRC was able to release numerous children and mentally ill individuals who were unlawfully detained in some monitored areas to join the defense forces, alongside regional leaders.

EHRC highlighted that in certain areas, military leaders released individuals who had been arrested by security forces from detention centers, citing that these arrests were unauthorized.

EHRC collected information from the Defense Force indicating that minors, among others, were not being recruited as soldiers. Referencing Article 17 of the Constitution, EHRC emphasized the right to freedom and the prohibition of illegal and arbitrary detention.

Nevertheless, EHRC condemned these unlawful practices, stating: “These actions constitute illegal and arbitrary detentions, infringing upon the right to freedom as guaranteed by international human rights treaties and the constitution.”

Rakeb Mesele, the Acting Chief Commissioner of EHRC, urged that recruitment for the defense forces in Oromia and other regions should be voluntary and adhere to established army procedures and standards.