Activists accuse service of ‘discrimination’ in issuing passports

Advocacy group Human Rights First has accused the Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service of violating the constitutional rights of Tigrayans to citizenship, equality and freedom of movement – charges he denies.

Tigrayans are demanding passports, “and I have confirmed through my investigations that they will be subject to special abuse, harassment and threats.” The rights group said that while the instructions for issuing passports are short and clear, “Tigrayan locals will be asked to provide additional documents and information as required by the law; it becomes difficult for them to obtain passports,” he said. Ato Mebrhi Birhane, deputy director of the human rights group, told VOA that if the agency cannot resolve the issue in a timely manner, it will take the matter to court.

The Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service denied the allegations and will ask all citizens from neighboring regions to provide more information to verify their Ethiopian identity, Adane Debebe, head of the agency’s passport services department, told VOA. “We are also working to resolve the issues we found in the process of filtering citizen information,” he said.