Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a veiled attack on Thursday on the country’s human rights body, suggesting that it had been “hijacked” by foreigners.

“I would like to suggest that the parliament starts investigating the role of human rights institutions in Ethiopia,” he said during a question-and-answer session with lawmakers in parliament.

Although he did not name any organisations, Abiy appeared to be targeting the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a state-affiliated but independent body.

“We pay their salaries but it looks like the institutions are pursuing the agendas of foreigners,” he said.

“The existing human rights institutions are free from the influence of the government, but they are hijacked by foreigners.”

Abiy’s comments came on the eve of a press conference by the EHRC to issue its latest annual report on the rights situation in Ethiopia.

Friday’s press conference will also mark the end of the five-year mandate for the commission’s head Daniel Bekele, a prominent rights activist and former political prisoner.

The EHRC has in the past not shied away from criticising Ethiopian government forces for rights abuses during the Tigray war and more recently in the restive Amhara region, which was under a state of emergency for months.

The body reports to the lower house of parliament and says it has a “mandate for promotion and protection of human rights”.

According to its 2023 report, the EHRC received 45 percent of its funding from the government and the rest from external partners.