Do not look on and do nothing. Security cannot be selective.

Re: The humanitarian and security crisis in the Amhara region of Ethiopia — 60th Munich Security Conference

Dear Participants of the 60th Munich Security Conference,

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” — Albert Einstein

We write to you as the Federation of Amhara Associations in Europe — representing Amhara diaspora communities across twelve European countries — as you gather for the 60th Munich Security Conference. We ask you to apply that intelligence to a crisis that is being systematically ignored.

Since August 2023, the Ethiopian government has conducted an intensive military campaign against the Amhara regional state — the homeland of more than 35 million people. This campaign has involved the use of armed drones against civilian populations, mass arbitrary detention, internet and communications blackouts, and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure including schools, health facilities, and markets.

The humanitarian consequences are severe. Millions have been displaced. Hundreds of thousands face acute food insecurity. An entire generation of children has been denied access to education.

The security consequences extend far beyond Ethiopia’s borders. The destabilisation of the Amhara region — the most populous in Ethiopia — risks triggering regional instability across the Horn of Africa at a moment when the international community is already stretched. A failed or fractured Ethiopia is a threat to peace across East Africa.

We call on participants of the 60th Munich Security Conference to:

1. Place the Amhara crisis on the international security agenda as a matter of urgency;
2. Call publicly on the Ethiopian government to halt military operations against civilian populations and to restore communications;
3. Condition financial and development assistance to Ethiopia on verifiable improvements in the protection of civilian populations;
4. Support the deployment of an independent international fact-finding mission to the Amhara region.

Appended to this letter is a briefing document — Genocide Prevention in Ethiopia — summarising the legal framework and documented evidence supporting a finding of grave violations of international humanitarian law.

Insecurity anywhere is a threat to security everywhere. The Munich Security Conference has a unique platform to act. We urge you to use it.

Yours faithfully,

Federation of Amhara Associations in Europe

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Appendix: Genocide Prevention in Ethiopia {#appendix}

Legal Framework

The following international legal instruments are applicable to the documented pattern of violence in the Amhara region:

• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), Article II: acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
• Rome Statute of the ICC (1998), Articles 7 (crimes against humanity) and 8 (war crimes).
• UN Security Council Resolution 2601 (2021) on the protection of education in armed conflict.
• US Secretary of State determination (March 2023): Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Eritrean forces, and Amhara forces committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Documented Pattern

International organisations have documented a consistent pattern of acts directed against the Amhara civilian population:

1. Mass killings of civilians — documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and OHCHR;
2. Systematic destruction of educational infrastructure — UNICEF Situation Report No. 9 documents 4.4 million children out of school in Amhara region alone;
3. Use of armed drones against civilian populations — documented in peer-reviewed research and by international media;
4. Mass arbitrary detention — estimated at tens of thousands following the August 2023 State of Emergency;
5. Communications blackouts — cutting off the civilian population from the outside world.

Call to Action

The international community has the legal obligation under the Genocide Convention not merely to punish but to prevent. Prevention requires early action. The indicators are present. The time to act is now.