Ethiopia embarked upon the long journey of democratisation by adopting a democratic Constitution in 1995 that recognised all rights, both democratic and human, without any limitations. This article was originally published in the 8th issue (October 2017) of The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.
Ethiopia’s Constitution states that “Human rights and freedoms, emanating from the nature of mankind, are inviolable and inalienable” (Article 10.1) and that “Human and democratic rights of citizens and peoples shall be respected” (Article 10.2). After adopting this Constitution, focus was therefore given by the Ethiopian government to the essential elements of the democratisation process: creating democratic institutions, formulating appropriate policies and strategies and instituting legal frameworks. Prime Minister Hailemariam said that the Ethiopian democracy, “which is now at an infant stage, is not immune from defects due to lack of awareness of law enforcement bodies, maladministration and other problems related to backward thinking”. Since 2013, the Human Rights Action Plans I and II have addressed some of these challenges facing human rights implementation. Promotion of human rights and democratic dialogue is also addressed in international consultations, among others with the European Union in the framework of the Ethiopia-EU partnership.
The Human Rights Commission
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is an independent body established by the House of Peoples’ Representatives for the purpose of promoting respect and protection of human rights in Ethiopia. Its mission is to educate the public, make sure human rights are protected, respected and fully enforced, as well as have the necessary measures taken where they are found to have been violated. The Commission has the responsibility and duty to conduct investigations in case of abuse and violation of human rights, either in response to complaints, or acting on its own initiative.
In April 2017, the Commission published an independent inquiry on the protests and clashes which cost hundreds of lives in Oromia and Amhara regions during the year 2016. The report said that “Too many human lives have perished, many suffered physical injury and so much property was destroyed.” After consulting the victims and their families, officials, elders, religious leaders, representatives of the community, the investigation concluded that lack of good governance was the main cause for the violence. Lack of response to questions raised by the public, problems of land management, and rent seeking were also mentioned as reasons for the violence. The Commission also found out that in some cases, regional security forces used excessive force on some part of the population. Therefore, the EHRC recommended solutions to ensure good governance, create employment opportunities for young people, rehabilitate those affected by the unrest, avert ethnic-based attacks, bring responsible security forces to justice, respect and promote people’s rights and prevent movement of illegal weapons. the implementation of the human rights in Ethiopia and the long-term progress of the country in this way through the recommendations it makes to the Parliament.
The Human Rights Action Plan
Dr. Addisu Gebregziabher, Head of the Ethiopian Human Right Commission, said at an event in Washington on 20 July 2017 that “while successes have been registered so far in improving the human rights situation in the country, certain challenges do still remain. The primary challenge emanates from resource constraints and lack of capacity.” Therefore, in accordance with its own Constitution, but also with international targets set, among others, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 and by the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, Ethiopia has developed a Human Rights Action Plan to identify and close gaps in this field. The main objective of the Human Rights Action Plan is to develop a comprehensive and structured mechanism to advance the respect, protection and fulfillment of human and democratic rights enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution. The Action Plan reviews the current human rights situation of the country, identifies potential problems, and sets feasible solutions. The specific objectives of the Action Plan are to indicate the strategic guidelines to promote human and democratic rights in the country; set forth comprehensive, structured and sustainable strategies to respect and protect human rights in the coming years; define means to raise public awareness of human rights and indicate strategies on how the Government could work in collaboration with NGOs legally entitled to work on human and democratic rights, development partners, civil societies and other international stakeholders.
The first version of the plan was presented in October 2013 and gave 60 recommendations to cover existing gaps in areas such as education, justice, police, prisons, etc. On 27 April 2017, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn launched the second Human Rights Action Plan. This updated version encompasses civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights of vulnerable groups and the rights to clean environment and development. According to the Prime Minister, the plan will help to sustainably improve human rights conditions and build democracy in the country. The implementation of the second action plan will give a
meaningful response to the ever-growing demands of the people for development and good governance. The action plan is prepared in line with the laws, policies, strategies and the second Growth and Transformation Plan. It establishes a new and strong implementation procedure based on the lessons learned from the first Plan. A series of training for public officials, implementers, CSOs, professional associations and NGOs will be provided to ensure its effective implementation.
Defending women’s rights
The respect of human rights towards women requires a special attention. Therefore, respecting women’s rights in the Ethiopian society is a core concern of the Ethiopian government. To reach this objective, the government is actively working to bringing an end to all harmful practices against women. A new Federal Family Code, based on the principle of gender equality came into effect in July 2000. This family law was the first of its kind in the history of the nation. It cemented the irreversible equality of women not only before the law but also in the entire socio-economic fabric of the country. The Ethiopian Revised Penal code (2005) invariably criminalizes domestic violence and harmful traditional practices including early marriage, abduction and female genital mutilation. The Government has since shown a groundbreaking commitment to end FGM and child marriage by 2025.
High-level dialogue with the EU: The continuation of a strong partnership
Ethiopia and the EU have enjoyed over 40 years of strong and enduring partnership and cooperation on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues. The importance of this relationship has been underlined in the Ethio-EU Strategic Engagement Agreement (2016). Ethiopia is also an increasingly important partner in terms of migration, as demonstrated by the signature of a Declaration on a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM). In April 2017, the first Annual Human Rights and Governance Consultation took place in Addis Ababa. This Consultation is one of the six pillars of the Ethio-EU Strategic Engagement. During the first consultation, the two sides dealt at length on how to further ensure the respect of fundamental human and democratic rights including ensuring rule of law, due process of law, promoting youth employment, ensuring respect of children’s and women’s rights, widening the political space in Ethiopia and expanding cooperation in the fight against human trafficking.
Despite protests in some parts of the country in 2016, which in some cases led to confrontations and violence, necessary steps were taken to ensure safety of the public and of property with the imposition of a state of emergency between October 2016 and August 2017. Besides, the government launched wide-ranging reforms to address the legitimate grievances of the public as identified by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, through job investments plans and an increased fight against maladministration and corruption, and to support the political dialogue. These efforts by the government and the civil society are also meant to serve a more democratic and prosperous society, and a better implementation of human rights in Ethiopia.
