 | |
 Ethiopia |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Addis Ababa |
| Envoy | |
| Ethiopia Ambassador to the United StatesSeleshi Bekele | AmbassadorErvin Jose Massinga |
Ethiopia–United States relations arebilateral relations betweenEthiopia and theUnited States. Ethiopia is a strategic partner of the United States in theGlobal War on Terrorism. The United States is the largest donor to Ethiopia: in 2008 U.S. foreign aid to Ethiopia totaled US$969 million, in 2009 $916 million, with 2010 estimated at $513 million and $586 million requested for 2011.[1] U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia is focused on reducing poverty and supporting economic development emphasizeseconomic,governance, and social sector policy reforms. Some military training funds, including training in such issues as the laws of war and observance ofhuman rights, also are provided.
Recently, theEthiopian government has been criticized for severehuman rights violations. According toHuman Rights Watch, the aid given by the United States is being abused to erodedemocracy in Ethiopia.[2] However, in September 2020, the United States suspended part of its economic assistance to Ethiopia due to the lack of sufficient progress in negotiations withSudan andEgypt over the construction of theGrand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.[3]
The currentambassador of Ethiopia to the United States is Fitsum Arega; he is also accredited toCanada andMexico. Principal U.S. officials includeAmbassadorMichael A. Raynor andDeputy Chief of Mission Troy Fitrell. The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia is located inAddis Ababa.
According to the 2016 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 29% ofEthiopians approve of U.S. leadership, with 4% disapproving and 67% uncertain.[4]
U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903, after nine days of meetings in Ethiopia between EmperorMenelik II andRobert P. Skinner, an emissary of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt. This first step was augmented with treaties of arbitration and conciliation signed at Addis Ababa 26 January 1929.[5] These formal relations included a grant ofMost Favored Nation status, and were good up to theattempted Italian occupation in 1935.
Warqenah Eshate, while visiting the United States in 1927, visitedHarlem, where he deliveredRas Tafari's greetings to theAfrican-American community and Tafari's invitation to skilled African Americans to settle in Ethiopia. A number of African-Americans did travel to Ethiopia, such asJohn Robinson who became the commander of the Ethiopian Air force, where they played a number of roles in the modernization of the country before theItalian attempted conquest in 1935.[6]
In his autobiography, EmperorHaile Selassie notes that the United States was one of only five countries which refused to recognize the Italian attempted conquest of his country.[7]
Following the return of Emperor Haile Selassie to Ethiopia, the United States certified Ethiopia for participation inLend-Lease. This was followed on 16 May 1944 by the arrival of what was later called the Fellows Mission, led byJames M. Landis.[8] Another significant event transpired in January 1944, when PresidentFranklin Roosevelt met personally with Emperor Haile Selassie aboard theUSS Quincy (CA-71) in theGreat Bitter Lake of Egypt. Although no matters of substance were resolved, the meeting both strengthened the Emperor's already strong predilection towards the United States, as well as discomforted theBritish who had been at odds with the Ethiopian government over the disposition ofEritrea and theOgaden.[9]These ties were strengthened with the signing of the September 1951 treaty of amity and economic relations.[10] In 1953, a further two agreements were signed: a mutual defense assistance agreement, under which the United States agreed to furnish military equipment and training, and an accord regularizing the operations of a U.S. communication facility atAsmara,Kagnew Station. In 1957, then U.S. Vice PresidentRichard Nixon visited Ethiopia and called it "one of the United States' most stalwart and consistent allies".[11] In addition, during the 1960s the U.S. Army provided mapping for much of the country of Ethiopia in an operation known as theEthiopia-United States Mapping Mission.[12]
During the1964 Ethiopian–Somali War over theOgaden, the Americans tacitly side withHaile Sellasie, withUS Air Force delivered military assistance the Ethiopian army,[13][14] including the deployment ofUS army combat training teams and the construction of anair base close to the border.[15][16] The scale of support to Ethiopia was significant enough that the embassy inMogadishu sent a cable cautioningWashington that if the full extent of American involvement in the conflict was discovered, there would be a serious political fallout with neighboring Somalia.[16]
Through fiscal year 1978, the United States provided Ethiopia with $282 million in military assistance and $366 million ineconomic assistance inagriculture,education, public health, andtransportation.
Ethiopia was one of the first countries to take part in the AmericanPeace Corps program, which emphasized agriculture, basic education, tourism, health, economic development and teaching English as a foreign language. The Peace Corps reports that since 1962, when its first volunteers arrived in Ethiopia, a total of 2,934 volunteers have served in that country.[17]U.S. Information Service educational and cultural exchanges were also an important part of their relations.
After theEthiopian Revolution, the bilateral relationship began to cool due to theDerg's linking withinternational communism and U.S. revulsion at the junta'shuman rights abuses. The United States rebuffed Ethiopia's request for increased military assistance to intensify its fight against theEritrean secessionist movement and to repel theSomali invasion. TheInternational Security and Development Act of 1985 prohibited all U.S.economic assistance to Ethiopia with the exception of humanitarian disaster and emergency relief. In July 1980, the U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia was recalled at the request of the Ethiopian Government (who was thenFrederic L. Chapin), and the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Embassy in the United States were headed subsequently byChargé d'affaires.[18]
With the downfall ofMengistu Haile Mariam (who had taken control of the Derg), U.S.-Ethiopian relations improved as legislative restrictions on non-humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia were lifted. Diplomatic relations were upgraded to the ambassadorial level in 1992. Total U.S. government assistance, including food aid, between 1991 and 2003 was $2.3 billion. During the severe drought year of 2003, the U.S. provided a record $553.1 million in assistance, of which $471.7 million was food aid.[18]
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The U.S. Congress, however, attempted to set conditions, over the objections of theGeorge W. Bush administration. In October, 2007, theHouse of Representatives passed theEthiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, banning military aid other than forcounterterrorism andpeacekeeping unless Ethiopia improved itshuman rights record. H.R. 2003 was referred to theSenate Committee on Foreign Affairs but was not voted on.[19] The bill sought to restrictU.S. military aid for any purpose other than counter-terrorism and peacekeeping purposes. If the president certified that all political prisoners had been released and anindependent media could function without excessive interference, full, normal military aid could resume. The Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act would have restricted security assistance and imposed travel restrictions on Ethiopian officials accused of human rights violations unless Ethiopia met the conditions – although the legislation would have given the president a waiver to prevent such measures from taking force.
The Act also exempted counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations, and international military training from any funding restrictions, a reflection of Ethiopia's military capabilities and its perceived role as a source of stability in the volatile Horn of Africa.[20]
In 2006, the Ethiopian government hired law firmDLA Piper to lobby against the passage of the H.R. 2003.[21][22] The Ethiopian government was specifically concerned about the sanctions that would be enacted if the bill passed.[22] DLA Piper, on behalf of the Ethiopian government, released statements emphasizing the counterterrorism role that the country played in the region, and that the United States relied on.[22] Additionally, Ethiopian diaspora groups, in opposition to the Ethiopian government, hiredBracewell and Giuliani to lobby for the passage of H.R. 2003.[22]
When asked about H.R. 2003, Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice stated that "The administration does not support this particular house resolution."[23] The Bush administration believed that human rights violations in Ethiopia needed to be addressed, but it claimed that H.R. 2003 was not the best method to do so.[24] Instead, Secretary Rice announced that the administration was working with NGOs to improve the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and that a good relationship with the Ethiopian government was essential for the efficacy of those programs.[24]
In 2021, the Ethiopian government hired former RepresentativeJoe Garcia to lobby on its behalf.[25]
As part of thewar on terror, Ethiopia emerged as an 'anchor state' for American policy and Western interests in the Horn of Africa in the early 2000's. Modelled after theNational Security Agency, the EthiopianInformation Network Security Agency (INSA) was created with support from theUnited States government, particularly in the context of the2006 invasion of Somalia aimed at toppling an Islamic government (theIslamic Courts Union). The original purpose of the agency was to intercept and analyze intelligence primarily fromSomalia.[26]
During the full-scale Ethiopianinvasion in December 2006, US Special Forces and CIAparamilitary units supported by AmericanAC-130s andhelicopter gunships, directly intervened in support of theEthiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF).[27][28] TheBush administration doubted Ethiopia's ability to effectively use the new equipment it had provided for the invasion. As a result, it decided to involveUS Special Forces andCIA agents in the campaign.[29] According to top officials in the Ethiopian backedSomali transitional government who had helped plan the invasion, "The Ethiopians were not able to come in without the support of the US Government...American air forces were supporting us."[30] In 2010, US ambassador to EthiopiaDonald Yamamoto stated that the Ethiopian invasion had been a mistake and "not a really good idea".[31]
TheCIA allegedly used Ethiopia as a base forblack sites to secretly interrogate undeclared prisoners in the GlobalWar on Terrorism.[32]
Human rights groups have accused the United States of giving Ethiopia's prime ministerMeles Zenawi "a free rein" to abuse his own people. In April 2010,Human Rights Watch published a report which accused Zenawi's ruling partyEthiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front of having "total control of local and district administrators to monitor and intimidate individuals at the household level." The report authorBen Rawlence also said that "Meles is using aid to build aone-party state" and accused foreign governments of having colluded in eroding civil liberties and democracy by letting their aid be manipulated by Zenawi. The Ethiopian government has denounced the report as "outrageous".[2]
Human rights violations in Ethiopia have created a strain in the two countries relations.Jendayi Frazer, head of U.S. African policy asAssistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at theBureau of African Affairs, spoke of "unprecedented" agreements between the Ethiopian opposition and government, which she said were "a monumental advancement in the political environment". Examples she gave included reform of theNational Election Board of Ethiopia and a new code of conduct for the press. But she added that the U.S. had raised "strong concerns" about human rights violations.In April 2010, Ethiopia attempted to jam broadcasts of theVoice of America, the U.S. state-run broadcaster. Prime Minister Zenawi accused Voice of America of broadcasting ethnic hatred and compared the broadcaster to the hate speech fromRadio Mille Collines, which had helped provokegenocide in Rwanda.The Economist pointed out that the U.S. response to these accusations had been rather muted, probably due to the importance of the U.S.-Ethiopia alliance.[2]
During the outbreak of the2016 Ethiopian protests the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa released a statement in which it said the U.S. government was “deeply concerned with the extensive violence.”[33]
In 2022 America announced that it would be issuing sanctions against Ethiopian national whom it accused of having a role in theTigray Conflict.[34] However, in September 2022, SenatorBob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized theBiden administration for hesitating to imposesanctions on the government of Ethiopia, where many atrocities andwar crimes were committed in the civil war between the government and the rebels.[35]
In February 2021, US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken condemnedethnic cleansing in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia and called for the immediate withdrawal ofEritrean forces and other fighters.[36][37] In March 2023, Blinken met with Ethiopian prime ministerAbiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa to normalize relations between the United States and Ethiopia that were strained by theTigray War between the Ethiopian government andTigray rebels.[38]
On 30 June 2023, theUnited States lifted aid restrictions onEthiopia. According to White House national security spokespersonJohn Kirby, the restrictions were lifted due to progress on human rights, particularly after the cessation-of-hostilities agreement. While violence continues in the Tigray region, the focus of assistance is on supporting peace, demining efforts, and accountability.[39]
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Barack Obama was the first sitting United States president to speak in front of theAfrican Union in Ethiopia's capitalAddis Ababa, on 29 July 2015. With his speech, he encouraged the world to increase economic ties via investments and trade with thecontinent, and lauded the progresses made ineducation, infrastructure and theeconomy. But he also criticized the lack of democracy and leaders who refuse to step off, discrimination against minorities (LGBT people,religious groups andethnicities) and corruption. He suggested an intensifieddemocratization andfree trade, to significantly increase living quality for Africans.[40][41]
In December 2022, Ethiopian prime ministerAbiy Ahmed attended theUnited States–Africa Leaders Summit 2022 in Washington, D.C., and met with US presidentJoe Biden.[42]
In 2023 Ethiopia received over US$1,000,000,000 in US aid for drought relief, conflict recovery, and long-term development.USAid freeze of February 2025 disrupted aid in Ethiopia, the largest US aid recipient insub-Saharan Africa.[43] TheWFP already cut rations by 40% for 800,000 refugees due to funding gaps. Ahmed Hussein, of the Ethiopian Civil Society Organisations Council, warned that the crisis could worsen, leading to more deaths and instability. The freeze also worsened the ongoingEthiopian malaria crisis, with 7,300,000 cases reported in 2024.[44]
Since the Bush administration doubted that the Ethiopians would use the new equipment effectively, it decided to participate in the campaign with American Special Forces and agents of the CIA. It was an offer Ethiopia could not refuse: money, arms, and the creation of an American shield to protect the regime. It began its unprovoked and ultimately unsuccessful invasion...
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State.
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