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Letter of Appeal from the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility

24 March 1999

Dr. Nigaso Gidada
President of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia
Office of the President
PO Box 1031
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Your Excellency:

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest organization of natural and social scientists in the United States, and the world's largest federation of scientific organizations, with 143,000 individual members and 275 affiliated groups. Our AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility was formed in 1976 to protect the human rights of scientists and to deal with issues relating to scientific freedom worldwide.

On behalf of the Committee, we are writing to express our deep concern about the continued detention of Eritrean students at a military base in southern Ethiopia. It is our understanding that the students were part of a bilateral exchange program sponsored by the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia. We have been informed that on 3 July 1998, the Eritrean government allowed the Ethiopian students to return home, while the Ethiopian government detained more than eighty Eritrean students, at least 37 of whom remain in detention.

We would like to point out that the continued detention of Eritrean students constitutes a violation of international, regional, and national human rights standards enumerated under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia. They include:

Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

* Everyone has the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile (Article 9); and
* Education shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial, or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace (Article 26).


Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Ethiopia on 11 June 1993:

* Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person. Everyone has the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention (Article 9).


Under the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, adopted by the Organization of African Unity on 17 June 1981:

* Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his or her person. No one may be deprived of his or her freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained (Article 6).


Under the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE):

* All persons in custody have the right to conditions which respect human dignity (Article 21).


We urge your government to respect its obligations under the international and regional human rights treaties to which it is a State Party and immediately and unconditionally release those students who continue to be detained.

Sincerely,

Irving Lerch, Chair
AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility

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