The African Development Bank (AfDB) is immediately withdrawing all its international staff from Ethiopia, citing a breach of diplomatic protocol and assault by Ethiopian security forces on two of its expatriates.

The office will remain open under an Officer-in-Charge, as AfDB stated in a note, with the affected employees working remotely outside Ethiopia.

However, these drastic measures will not impact nationally recruited staff from Ethiopia, who will continue their work and remain in the full employment of the Bank.

On October 31, 2023, two Addis Ababa-based staff members were unlawfully arrested, physically assaulted, and detained for hours without charge or any official explanation, according to AfDB.

The lender remarked that this incident constituted a gross violation of their diplomatic immunities, rights, and privileges under the AfDB Group's Host Country Agreement with the Government of Ethiopia.

Upon learning of the incident, AfDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina contacted authorities in Ethiopia and managed to secure their release. The bank followed up on the case on November 6, demanding full investigations into the incident.

Dr Adesina also dispatched a high-level delegation of Bank officials led by its Senior Vice President to Addis Ababa on November 22 to engage with senior Ethiopian authorities.

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Harassment

The Bank President stated, "The assessment from the Bank's delegation indicates that the situation is still not yet resolved... It also does not provide full confidence that all the AfDB's employees feel safe and secure to carry out their duties and move around the country without fear of harassment."

"The African Development Bank remains particularly concerned that the Ethiopian government has, to date, not shared with the Bank any report or details of investigations into the incident," Adesina added.

The Bank President noted, "The October incident continues to cause much anxiety across the Bank Group and especially among staff at the Ethiopia country office. The incident has also raised concerns among the Bank's shareholders, other multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, the broader diplomatic community, and other stakeholders."

As of September 30, 2023, the Bank's ongoing portfolio in Ethiopia, comprising 22 projects, totaled $1.24 billion. Adesina, however, noted, "While the Bank appreciates the excellent relations it has with Ethiopia until this egregious incident, its continued operations and future presence in the country could be negatively affected if the incident is not fully resolved.”

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