Resolution on the Situation in Ethiopia
We, Participants of the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 44th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples ‘Rights,
Considering the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Charter of the United Nations, as well as those of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other regional and international human rights instruments to which Ethiopia is a state party;
Recalling the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1998 Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), the 1999 Grand Bay Declaration and Plan of Action, the 2003 Kigali Declaration and all the legal instruments which guarantee the right of defenders of human rights;
Further considering Ethiopia’s Constitution which guarantees amongst other rights, freedom of assembly, association and expression and recalling its obligations under the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;
Deeply concerned by the instances of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and prosecution of human rights defenders that have occurred on a frequent basis ever since the contested elections of 2005;
Deeply concerned by the government’s recent presentation to Parliament of the highly restrictive Draft Proclamation on Charities and Societies, a bill which would greatly hamper future human rights activities in the country and the effective functioning of human rights organisations in the country;
Deploring the restrictions, both legislative and administrative, imposed on the private media by the Ethiopian authorities and the increasing cases of prosecution of independent journalists;
Noting that harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, including journalists, obscures the actual and deteriorating human rights situation, notably in the Ogaden region, and thereby undermines efforts to bring these violations to the attention of the international community;
NGO Forum calls upon the ACHPR to take all necessary measures to pass a resolution:
1. Encouraging the Ethiopian authorities to reconsider several of the restrictive provisions of the Charities and Societies Draft Proclamation ensuring an enabling environment for NGOs and that the policy formulation process should be one that allows for the active participation of the civil society community and other stakeholders;
2. Calling on the Ethiopian authorities to end all practices which threaten freedom of expression and prevent human rights defenders and particularly journalists from pursuing their legitimate work;
3. Calling on the Ethiopian authorities to carry out prompt, impartial, effective and independent investigations into all cases of human rights violations, both past and present, particularly those affecting human rights defenders and most notably the human rights abuses which took place in the aftermath of the general elections 2005;
4. Encouraging the Ethiopian authorities to allow for independent and unimpeded access by national and international human rights groups and the media to regions of particular concern;
5. Calling on African Union member States to support initiatives by HRDs in Ethiopia aimed at strengthening their position, notably through join initiatives and networks;
6. Recommending to AU member States to ensure that all HRDs in particular journalists that have been forced into exile can pursue their vital work by providing them with assistance and protection;
7. Recommending to AU member States that all forthcoming assistance to the Ethiopian government from the African Union, notably given its key position, should demand human rights accountability.
Done in Abuja, November 9th, 2008
