SOCEPP was established in March 1995 by concerned Ethiopians who not only wanted to support the struggle for human rights in Ethiopia but were also struck by the fact that the local and the foreign human rights organizations had ignored many political prisoners. To give voice to the voiceless, to struggle against forgetfulness, SOCEPP declared as its primary objective the propagation of the plight of the forgotten political prisoners, the "disappeared".

Since then, SOCEPP has struggled against serious obstacles in its effort to expose the human rights violations that are routine for the existing EPRDF regime headed by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The task has been difficult because the regime's demagogy had succeeded to dupe many quarters and to portray a wrong image of the existing dismal situation. In reality, the human rights record of the regime is worse than poor and the violations are systematic and routine. A regime that openly practices ethnic politics and favoritism, the EPRDF is totalitarian but in name. It controls the judiciary, the police, the legislative body, the police, the army, the bureaucracy, the mass media, the economy through companies owned by the ruling front and grouped under EFFORT, and it is well known that more than 95% of the top government posts are held by its members. The one party rule being the reality it is covered up by the proliferation of satellite ethnic based tiny groups and the play at being democratic. Freedom of the press and of association are curtailed, organizations declared illegal and persecuted and the majority of the people, that is to say peasants, denied the right to own the land they work on, marginalized and repressed. Despite claims of economic progress and undeserved praise from certain foreign quarters, the regime's bankrupt policies are characterized by the fact that more than seven million people are struck by famine and need food aid, more than 82% have no basic sanitation, a country of some 7 million people have only 2000 doctors and more than 3 million people are afflicted by AIDS.

The overall catastrophic situation is accompanied by a serious violation of human rights by a minority regime that has repressed all dissent. The coming general election in May is not only going to be conducted under an electoral law and board controlled by the ruling group but already the killings and intimidation of the opposition is in full swing. The prisons, both official and secret, hold more than 15,000 political prisoners and dozens of the disappeared have not been yet accounted for. The rights of children and women are trampled upon routinely as many SOCEPP communiques have denounced over the years. It is fair to say that SOCEPP has don its best to achieve its stated objectives and has in the past ten years not only exposed the violations but also helped concretely the political prisoners and their families. It has struggled against the tendency to forget for one reason or another and has consistently called for the respect of human rights in Ethiopia. Since the regime in place is repressive and against the rights of the people, SOCEPP vows to continue its fight for the respect of human rights in Ethiopia.