Resolution 230596

..Title Urging the President of the United States and the United States Congress to reexamine foreign policy towards Ethiopia. ..Body WHEREAS, The noble people of Ethiopia have developed and nourished a proud and distinguished culture that has endured for three millennia; and WHEREAS, Ethiopia has had a long and productive friendship with the United States of America; and WHEREAS, Ethiopia is of great strategic and economic importance to the United States and to the world; and WHEREAS, The seeds of democratic change in Ethiopia should be allowed to blossom and not be snuffed out; and WHEREAS, Ethiopia is poised at a crucial juncture in its history but it is making a regression towards non-democratic brutal rule under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed; and WHEREAS, The ascendance of policy of promoting ethnic federalism has placed the civilian population of Ethiopia, particularly women and children, in great danger; and WHEREAS, Governmental practices have caused great division and have led to the death of hundreds and the arbitrary arrest of thousands more, including religious leaders and journalists; and WHEREAS, The people of Ethiopia are aspiring to resolve their complicated problems through the formation and utilization of democratic institutions and maximum citizen input; and WHEREAS, The basic underpinning of democratic institutions in the new Ethiopia should be democratic values and the guarantee of the rule of the people; and WHEREAS, The Ethiopian government should adhere to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which encourages freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and press, guarantees all basic rights, and discourages ethnocentric policies and ethnic reservations; and WHEREAS, It is crucial that the diverse voices, opinions, and philosophies of the people be expressed in promoting political, economic, and social progress and justices in Ethiopia; and WHEREAS, A multiparty government may be the most egalitarian, feasible, and productive political arrangement in providing suffrage and in overcoming monumental obstacles; and WHEREAS, President Joseph Biden and the Congress of the United States will play a crucial role in promoting the peaceful resolution of the immense problems of Ethiopia; and WHEREAS, The implementation of a democratic, multiparty government in Ethiopia should be a long-range foreign policy goal of the United States Government; now therefore be it, RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL FO THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA that urges the formation of democratic institutions, multiparty participation, progressive social change, and respect for fundamental human rights in Ethiopia, including freedom of religion, association, and expression. And that the President and the Congress of the United States should use every possible means at their command to examine the policy, that recognizes and evaluates the political conditions that exist in Ethiopia with a view to ensure the end of the shocking brutality of ethnic warfare in Ethiopia. ..End