The Role of the Police in Citizen Protection: Legal Frameworks, Security Challenges, and Accountability Mechanisms

Ethiopia’s internal security landscape has been profoundly transformed over the past decade, shaped by political transition, repeated states of emergency, intercommunal violence, and large-scale armed conflicts. Within this volatile environment, police and security forces have assumed expanded roles that go far beyond conventional law enforcement. While these institutions are legally mandated to protect civilians, uphold public order, and respect constitutional rights, numerous credible accounts indicate that segments of the Ethiopian police and allied security forces have been implicated in patterns of human rights violations. These concerns have become particularly acute in relation to the treatment of civilians in conflict-affected areas, including the Amhara Region.The Amhara population has experienced escalating insecurity since 2020, with conditions deteriorating sharply from April 2023 and intensifying into widespread armed confrontation by August 2023. In this context, policing has increasingly overlapped with counterinsurgency and military operations, blurring the distinction between civilian law enforcement and armed conflict conduct.