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African-Development-Bank-Group
The African Development Bank has decided to withdraw all its international staff from Ethiopia immediately. The office will remain open under an Officer-in-Charge.
According to AfDB, these restrictions will not affect nationally recruited Ethiopian staff who will continue to work and be fully employed by the bank.
According to the bank's press release, that
"these decisions follow the recent breach of diplomatic protocol and
assault by Ethiopian security forces on two of the African Development Bank's
international members of staff."
On
October 31, 2023, two Addis Ababa-based employees were wrongfully arrested,
physically abused, and imprisoned for hours without charge or explanation.
This
was a flagrant violation of their personal diplomatic immunity, rights, and
advantages under the Host Country Agreement with Ethiopia of the African
Development Bank Group.
When
the African Development Bank President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, learned of the
occurrence, he promptly contacted the highest levels of authority in the
Ethiopian government, and the Bank's two employees were released.
On
November 6, the African Development Bank publicly contacted with the Ethiopian
government through an official note verbale, asking a full and transparent
investigation into the occurrence.
Dr.
Adesina also sent a high-level delegation of Bank officials, led by its Senior
Vice President, to Addis Abeba on November 22 to meet with senior Ethiopian
officials and meet with Bank workers in the Ethiopia Office.
The
Bank President said, “the assessment from the Bank's delegation indicates that
the situation is still not yet resolved in a satisfactory manner. It also does
not provide full confidence that all the African Development Bank’s employees
feel safe and secure to carry out their duties and move around the country
without fear of harassment.”
“The
African Development Bank remains particularly concerned that the Ethiopian
government has, to date, not shared with the Bank any report, or details of
investigations into the incident,” Adesina added.
The
Bank President said, “the October incident continues to cause much anxiety
across the African Development Bank Group and especially among staff at the
Ethiopia country office. The incident has also raised concerns among the Bank’s
shareholders, other multilateral development banks, international financial
institutions, the broader diplomatic community, and other stakeholders.”
Adesina
emphasized the African Development Bank will do everything possible to ensure
the safety and security of its personnel, and the protection of their rights
and privileges in the conduct of their work.
As
a precaution, he stated, the Bank's international staff in Ethiopia will work
remotely outside of the country until the findings of the government
investigations into the grave incident are transparently shared with the Bank
and full details of the measures taken to bring the guilty parties to justice
are made public.
The
African Development Bank, he said, remains dedicated to assisting the country's
socioeconomic development. The Bank's continuing portfolio in Ethiopia, which
included 22 projects, totaled $1.24 billion as of September 30, 2023.
Adesina,
on the other hand, said that "while the Bank appreciates the excellent
relations it has with Ethiopia until this egregious incident, its continued
operations and future presence in the country could be negatively affected if
the incident is not fully resolved."
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