By Mesfin Tegenu
Exposes Ethiopia’s worsening human rights crisis—religious persecution of Christians, churches destroyed, and sexual violence used as a weapon amid governance collapse. These abuses demand action consistent with U.S. commitments under IRFA. Congress must pass H. Res. 937 to affirm accountability, protect civilians, and defend religious freedom.
For decades, the U.S. has stood as a global defender of religious freedom and human rights. That commitment is embedded in U.S. law and foreign-policy practice, most notably through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which established religious freedom as a core national interest, created an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and mandated regular reporting and accountability for violations worldwide.
Congress explicitly affirmed that the U.S. would condemn violations of religious liberty and stand with persecuted faith communities through diplomatic, political, and legal means. That longstanding, bipartisan commitment, upheld across successive U.S. administrations, is now being tested in Ethiopia, where Christian communities continue to face targeted violence.
In late October and early November 2025, credible reports from Ethiopia’s Arsi and East Arsi Zones documented deadly attacks on civilians, assaults on churches, and the forced flight of families from affected communities. Statements released by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church indicated that more than 25 civilians were killed in East Arsi during this period amid coordinated attacks on villages and religious sites.
International concern followed quickly. In November 2025, the World Council of Churches issued a pastoral letter to the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, expressing alarm over killings in Arsi Zone and noting that those killed were believed to be members of the Orthodox Christian community. The letter emphasized both the gravity of violence and the difficulty of independent verification in an active conflict environment — an acknowledgement that underscores, rather than diminishes, the seriousness of the reported abuses.
Church authorities described the attacks not as random or spontaneous acts, but as targeted violence against civilians identified by religious affiliation, carried out in areas where communities reported little or no effective protection. For residents, the message was unmistakable: Faith had become a liability rather than a protected right.
What occurred in Arsi reflects a broader and deeply troubling pattern. Across multiple regions of Ethiopia affected by prolonged internal conflict, Christian communities have faced attacks on places of worship, the killing or detention of clergy and worshippers, and the displacement of civilians.
U.S. government human-rights reporting has documented unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, and collective punishment linked to Ethiopia’s internal conflicts, while international religious-freedom monitors have warned that instability and weak accountability have increasingly exposed faith communities to violence.
What makes the current moment especially alarming is the persistence of impunity. Repeated reports of harm to civilians have produced limited accountability, reinforcing perceptions that perpetrators of religiously motivated violence face few consequences. Local appeals for protection often go unanswered. International concern is acknowledged, but too often without sustained follow-through.
The question before Congress is therefore no longer whether serious abuses are occurring. The available evidence — from church authorities, international religious institutions, and U.S. reporting — establishes that civilians are being targeted. The question is whether the U.S. will respond with moral clarity, strategic realism, and principled accountability.
A new resolution in Congress condemning Ethiopia’s current regime reflects precisely that response.
Religious freedom has long been embedded in U.S. foreign-policy law and practice. Congress has repeatedly affirmed that freedom of religion is a core national interest and that sovereignty cannot be invoked to shield gross violations of human rights. The resolution proposed by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) aligns with that framework by calling for accountability where credible evidence of abuse exists.
The resolution does not seek to punish the Ethiopian people or sever diplomatic ties. Instead, it advances a principle Congress has consistently endorsed: targeted accountability for individuals and institutions credibly implicated in serious human-rights violations, while preserving humanitarian assistance and continued engagement with civil society.
For members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the implications extend beyond moral concern. Religious persecution is also a strategic warning sign. Where governments fail to protect faith communities, broader instability often follows—along with the erosion of the rule of law, the breakdown of social cohesion, and increased displacement.
In Ethiopia, continued abuses risk compounding instability in the Horn of Africa, a region central to U.S. interests in Red Sea security, regional trade routes, and counterterrorism cooperation. Violence against civilians, left unchecked, undermines long-term stability and weakens prospects for durable peace.
The pastoral intervention by the World Council of Churches following the Arsi killings was an extraordinary step, reflecting the gravity of the situation and the growing alarm among global Christian institutions. When international religious bodies feel compelled to issue formal appeals for protection, the warning should not be dismissed.
Congress should heed that signal. For House leadership, advancing the resolution to the floor would reaffirm Congress’s institutional role in defending religious freedom and upholding international law. It would also reinforce a consistent message: partnership with the United States carries responsibilities, including the protection of civilians and respect for fundamental rights.
Silence in the face of targeted religious violence is not neutrality. House leaders can speak up now and demonstrate that credible reports of persecution will be met not with indifference, but with measured and principled action.
Congress has already shown foresight by introducing this bill. The responsibility now rests with House leadership to act.
Mesfin Tegenu is executive chairman of the American Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee.