Ethiopia has never been colonised and is Africa's oldest independent country. Problems of drought, political violence and poor governance in the country have maintained high poverty levels and been at the root of violent regime changes. In 1974, a junta known as the Derg and led by Mengistu Haile Mariam seized control of the government from Emperor Haile Selassie. Opponents to the Mengistu regime were killed, detained and displaced, and civilians faced starvation and thousands died.

Soon after taking power in 1991, the Woyane government created a Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) to hold former leaders and officials of the Derg accountable for human rights abuses committed from 1974 to 1991. The SPO was authorised on 8 August 1992 and filed its first criminal charges in 1994. (Read more about the SPO.)