Ethiopia’s Special Prosecutor’s Office requires an independent international cooperation unit to effectively address international crimes and ensure justice. The proposed unit will help investigate, locate, and prosecute offenders, particularly non-Ethiopia nationals, by facilitating extraditions and cooperation with other states. The lack of such a unit may undermine the SPO’s credibility and the overall transitional justice process.
To ensure effective justice for international crimes, Ethiopia’s Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) requires a dedicated international cooperation unit. The nation is currently drafting transitional justice laws aimed at addressing historical and ongoing abuses through mechanisms such as accountability, truth-seeking, reparations, and institutional reform. The proposed SPO will investigate core international crimes, including genocide and war crimes, while also holding offenders accountable, including those outside Ethiopian jurisdiction.
The SPO faces complexities in pursuing fugitive offenders, as locating their whereabouts may necessitate unconventional measures, including incentivizing informants for intelligence. However, the task extends beyond identification to ensuring extradition and accountability, particularly when requests are denied by requested states. Thus, fostering relationships with third-party nations to prosecute offenders under universal jurisdiction becomes critical.
Recognizing these challenges, an international cooperation treaty, the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention, was adopted in 2024 to facilitate cross-border collaboration in prosecuting such crimes. Despite the existence of some specialized divisions within the SPO, the absence of an international cooperation unit significantly hampers the office’s ability to fulfill its mandate effectively.
This new SPO will address not only Ethiopian nationals but also non-Ethiopian perpetrators, particularly Eritreans associated with the Tigray war. Historical resistance to cooperation from Eritrean authorities indicates that a dedicated international cooperation unit is essential to secure evidence and advocate for accountability.
Ethiopia’s historical issues with extradition highlight the urgent need for this specialized unit. The Dergue-era trials prompted numerous in absentia proceedings due to the high number of fugitives. The prior SPO’s inability to secure extraditions demonstrated the need for an improved framework, which is currently lacking due to the absence of binding treaties governing cooperation. The establishment of the new SPO provides an opportunity to rectify these gaps.
The establishment of an independent international cooperation unit within Ethiopia’s Special Prosecutor’s Office is paramount for enhancing the delivery of justice concerning international crimes. Such a unit would not only address historical deficits in cooperation but also adapt to the evolving nature of transitional justice, providing essential support for securing extraditions and prosecuting offenders effectively. As Ethiopia strives for accountability, the proposed unit would ensure the SPO’s credibility and reinforce the integrity of the judicial system.
Original Source: www.eurasiareview.com
