Ethiopia government needs to show respect for humanity to regain US trust

The international relations of the United States are guided by four main goals including protection of human rights and promoting democracy

By international norms of conduct both moral and legal, UN treaty obligations between member states, and finally in insuring treaty partners of the United States give due diligence to their sworn promises the United States must continue with completion of the terms in House Resolution 6600. For over a year the United States showed generous patience in trying to find humane protections for noncombatants including women and children to no avail largely on the part of Ethiopia. Statements by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dina Mufti in his complaints fails to understand that international relations are governed by bilateral respect for humanity and regard for human life not just by association. The State Department of the United States has four main foreign policy goals: Protect the United States and Americans; Advance democracy, human rights, and other global interests; … Support U.S. diplomats, government officials, and all other personnel at home and abroad who make these goals a reality.

Both the United States and Ethiopia are members of the United Nations which means they have signed international treaties which carry the weight of law including but not limited to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. This measure specifies that Ethiopia had a duty to protect Tigrayan and other ethnic groups suffering under the conflict from harm and provide the basic necessities of life which it absolutely neglected and in fact actively contributed to deprivation of security, food, health care, communication, power, and transportation.

Within just the last year the United States rendered over $ 1 billion in aid mostly for humanitarian relief to Ethiopia. The United States is the largest donor of aid to Ethiopia and aids Ethiopia more than any other country in Africa. Until the recent discontinuation of the African Growth and Opportunity treaty because of violation of agreed upon conditions Ethiopia averaged intakes of $237 million in tax free exports to the USA yearly. The American people are a generous lot who are willing to see their hard earned treasure help democracy but are not wanting to contribute to a regime growing more despotic by the day.