The Quest for Remedies for Violations of IDPs` Right to Land and Property in Ethiopia

The predicament of IDPs has emerged as one of the great human tragedies in the world today, including in Ethiopia. Millions of people have been forced to abandon their houses, land and other property because of conflicts, disasters, and development projects. This made them more vulnerable to homelessness, economic hardship, social disarticulation, psychological trauma, and various forms of severe deprivation of human rights. However, there remains a lack of an effective mechanism to respond to the multiple claims of IDPs. This doctrinal article examines the extent to which the existing international, regional, and national legal instruments are applicable to remedy violations of IDPs' right to land and property in Ethiopia. The article emphasizes inadequate policy, legal, and institutional framework as one of the critical gaps in providing and enforcing judicial and administrative remedies upon violations of the rights in question. Compared to development-induced displacement, where the Expropriation Proclamation has made a good start, remedies and reparations for conflict and disaster-induced displacements are still inadequate and found scattered in the various substantive and procedural laws of the country. A review of related literature also informs that the problem is exacerbated by other practical challenges such as lack of awareness and political will, the prevailing culture of impunity for human rights violations, issues in land registration and formalization of property rights, the absence of separate fund and procedural difficulties to lodge actions. The article underlines the need to introduce a comprehensive legal framework, ensure land and property registrations, establish a separate fund, and strengthen Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and class action as key reform priorities.