Human Rights Council adopts Universal Periodic Review outcome on Ethiopia

The UN Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Ethiopia on September 19, 2014. On that date, Ethiopia was given 252 recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council member States[1]to improve human rights infringements in the country, based on the general human rights situation assessment made to Ethiopia on May 2014 at UPR.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa welcomes the adoption of the outcome of the UPR on Ethiopia and appreciates the majority of the UN Human Rights Council member states’ recognition that one of their members, Ethiopia, has committed gross human rights abuses in its own country contrary to its responsibility to protect and promote human rights globally.  Most of the Recommendations the Ethiopian Government received on September 19, 2014 were similar to the 2009 recommendations that were given to the same country during the first round of UPR human rights situation assessment in Ethiopia[2]. This proves that the human rights situation in Ethiopia continues to deteriorate.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa also welcomes the Ethiopian government for its courage of admitting its wrongdoings and acknowledged most of the recommendations and promise to work further for their improvements. The HRLHA looks forward the Government of Ethiopia to shows its commitment to fulfil its promises, and not to put them aside until the next UPR comes in four years (2019)

However, the government of Ethiopia failed again to accept the recommendations not to use the anti-terrorism proclamation it adopted in 2009 to suppress fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and demonstrations. The country also rejected the recommendation of the member states to permit a special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association to travel to Ethiopia to advise the Government.

Today, thousands of people are languishing in prison because they formed their own political organizations or supported different political groups other than EPRDF.  Thousands were indiscriminately brutalized in Oromia, Ogadenia, Gambela, Benshangul and other regions because they demanded their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly, demonstration and expression.   These and other human rights atrocities in Ethiopia were reported by national and international human rights organizations, and international mass media, including foreign governments and NGOs. The Government of Ethiopia has repeatedly denied all these credible reports and continued with its systematic ethnic cleansing.

The HRLHA appreciates the UN Human Rights Council members who have provided valuable recommendations that have exposed the atrocity of the Ethiopian Government against defenceless civilians and the HRLHA urges them to put pressure on the government of Ethiopia to accept those recommendations it has rejected and put them into practice.

Finally, the HRLHA strongly supports the recommendations made by UN Human Rights Council member states and urges the Ethiopian Government to reverse its rejection of some recommendations, including:

• Ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC),
• Ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, OPCAT,
• Permitting the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association to travel to Ethiopia to advise the Government;
• Improving conditions in detention facilities by training personnel to investigate and prosecute all alleged cases of torture, and ratify OPCAT,
• Repealing the Charities and Societies Proclamation in order to promote the development of an independent civil society “Allowing Ethiopia’s population to operate freely”
• Removing vague provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation that can be used to criminalize the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and association and ensure that criminal prosecutions do not limit the freedom of expression of civil society, opposition politicians and independent media ;

and use this opportunity to improve its human rights record.

Minelik Alemu Getahun, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that Ethiopia had accepted 188 out of the 252 recommendations received during its Universal Periodic Review and that its high-level commitment to the process would expedite their implementation, in collaboration with civil society. Significant progress had been made in consolidating human rights and good governance and Ethiopia was committed to build on the remarkable achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The recommendation to review, amend and repeal the Charities and Societies Proclamation could not be accepted because it aimed at ensuring the right to freedom of association. Recommendations pertaining to the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation were not acceptable as this law was not used to target political opposition.

Consideration of Outcome of Universal Periodic Review of Ethiopia

MINELIK ALEMU GETAHUN, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that Ethiopia had accepted 188 out of the 252 recommendations received during its Universal Periodic Review and said that its high-level commitment to the process would expedite their implementation. The Ministry of Justice had the lead role in the implementation of the national human rights action plan and in the implementation of recommendations from human rights bodies. The process would be further complemented by the participation of grassroots organizations and civil society. The Government was determined to sustain its efforts to provide continuing human rights education for law enforcement officials and to strengthen judicial review. Significant progress had been made in consolidating human rights and good governance and Ethiopia was committed to build on the remarkable achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.Some of the recommendations could not be accepted either because they were not based on objective assessment or due to lack of capacity for implementation. The recommendation to review, amend and repeal the Charities and Societies Proclamation could not be accepted because it aimed at ensuring the right to freedom of association and provided a predictable and transparent system for the establishment, registration and regulation of such organizations and a conducive environment for the growth of grass root advocacy, development and humanitarian civil society groups. Recommendations pertaining to the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation were not acceptable because the law was aimed at fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and was not used to target political opposition. Ethiopia also rejected the recommendation concerning the freedom of the mass media and access to information and said it would consider inviting Special Procedures on a case-by-case basis. -

International Centre against Censorship noted the acceptance by Ethiopia of recommendations to fully implement freedom of expression and association. However, this apparent openness was contrary to the reality on the ground.

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project said that Ethiopia’s engagement with the Universal Periodic Review process had to be understood in the context of the deteriorating human rights situation. Just yesterday, a group of United Nations human rights experts urged Ethiopia to stop using anti-terrorism laws to repress freedom of expression.

United Nations Watch was concerned about the human rights situation in the country. It was disturbed that many important Universal Periodic Review recommendations had been rejected, including on freedom of assembly and expression. There had been numerous reports of journalists charged with false terrorism offences.

Organisation pour la Communication en Afrique et de Promotion de la Cooperaiton Economique Internationale paid tribute to that fact that Ethiopia had created more than 2.6 million jobs over the past two years. It was seriously concerned about the prevalence of female genital mutilation, early marriage and violence against women in the country.

Amnesty International said that with elections coming up, urgent and concrete steps were required. Amnesty International was deeply concerned about Ethiopia’s rejection of key recommendations on freedom of expression and association, relevant to the participation in elections. The Council’s sustained attention was required.

CIVICUS-World Alliance for Citizen Participation said that the draconian restrictions on freedom of expression and association still stood in Ethiopia and this limit on fundamental liberties would seriously undermine the holding of free and democratic elections in 2015.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the human rights-based commitment to development and was increasingly concerned about the human rights situation in Ethiopia. The Government refused to respond to and investigate allegations of worst human rights violations committed by its security forces, including torture and ill-treatment.

Recontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l’homme noted the efforts to ensure genuine respect for women’s rights and seriously deplored the deterioration in freedom of expression and press freedoms and said it was vital to put an end to the monopoly and control of the press.

MINELIK ALEMU GETAHUN, Permanent Representatives of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said he found some of the language used by non-governmental organizations deplorable and even outrageous. Their allegations of Government measures against civil society were unfounded and based on isolated events. The Government was firmly committed to the full protection of the democratic rights of all its citizens, particularly against the use of torture. Speaking of the general elections to be held in Ethiopia in May 2015, Mr. Getahun stressed that the Government would ensure that they complied with international democratic standards, and that they would be conducted in a peaceful manner, in order to provide all citizens with the opportunity to freely express their will. The Government was committed to upholding the principles of good governance and democracy, as well as to the engagement with civil society, particularly in the area of economic growth.Of the 252 recommendations received, Ethiopia accepted 188 and took note of 64.The Council then adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of Ethiopia. – See more at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Sources:

• Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

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ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት መንግስት ለተሰደዱ ጋዜጠኞች ዋስትና እሰጣለሁ ማለቱ ማታለያ መሆኑን ተናገረ

በሽብር ስም ጥፋተኛ ተብሎ በእስር ላይ የሚገኘው ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት ታዬ ሰሞኑን መንግስት ከሀገር የተሰደዱ ጋዜጠኞች ወደሀገራቸው ቢመለሱ እንደማይከሳቸው በማስታወቅ፣ ለዚህም ዋስትና እሰጣለሁ ማለቱ ማታለያ መሆኑን በእስር ቤት ተገኝቶ ጋዜጠኛውን ለጎበኘው የነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ጋዜጠኛ ተናግሯል፡፡

አምስት መጽሔቶች እና አንድ ጋዜጣ መከሰሳቸውን ተከትሎ ሀገር ጥለው የተሰደዱ ጋዜጠኞች በሚሰሩበት ተቋማት ላይ የቀረበው ክስ የማይመለከታቸው በመሆኑ ወደሀገራቸው ተመልሰው በሙያቸው ሰርተው መኖር እንደሚችሉ፣ ለዚህም የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ዋስትና እንደሚሰጥ የመንግስት ኮሚኒኬሽን ጽ/ቤት ሚኒስትር ዴኤታ አቶ እውነቱ ብላታ ማስታወቃቸው የሚታወስ ሲሆን፣ ‹‹ጋዜጠኞች አልተከሰሱም፤ ወደፊትም አይከሰሱምም›› ሲሉ ገልጸው ነበር፡፡

ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት ታዬ ‹‹የመንግስትን ዋስትና መተማመን አይቻልም፤ የስርዓቱን ባህርይ ጠንቅቀን እናውቀዋለን፤ ዋስትና እሰጣለሁ ማለቱ ማታለያ ነው፡፡ በግሌ የሙያ አጋሮቼ ሀገር ቤት ሆነው የሚወዱትን ሙያ ቢሰሩ ደስ እሰኛለሁ፡፡ ሆኖም ግን ይህን መንግስት ማመን ከባድ ነው›› ብሏል፡፡

በተለያዩ እስር ቤቶች ታስረው የሚገኙ ጋዜጠኞችና ጦማርያን ለእስር የተዳረጉት ሀሳብን በነጻነት ከመግለጽ መብት ጋር በተያያዘ መሆኑን የሚያውቅ ያውቀዋል ያለው ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት፣ የተሰደዱት ጋዜጠኞች ዋስትና አግኝተናል ብለው ቢመለሱ እንኳ የሙያ አጋሮቻቸው በእስር ለምን ይማቅቃሉ ብለው መጠየቅ እንደሚኖርባቸው አስተያየቱን ገልጹዋል፡፡

‹‹ኢህአዴግ የተሰደዱትን ዋስትና እሰጣለሁ ሲል አንድ ቁማር መጫወት ፈልጎ ነው፡፡ ይህም የተሰደዱትን አልከሰስሁም በማለት እናንተ ወንጀል አልሰራችሁም፤ በተለያዩ እስር ቤቶች ያሰርኳቸው ግን ወንጀል ስለፈጸሙ ነው የሚለውን ማስረገጥ በመፈለግ ነው፡፡ እኛ ወንጀል ሰርተን አይደለም የታሰርነው፡፡ ርዕዮት ዓለሙ ህክምና እንኳ እያገኘች አይደለም፡፡ ታዲያ መንግስት ዋስትና እሰጣለሁ ሲል ይህን ሁሉ ግፍ ይዘነጉታል ብሎ ነው እንዴ?›› ሲል ጠይቋል፡፡

እንዲሁ እንደ ቀላል ነገር ለተሰደዱ ጋዜጠኞች ዋስትና እሰጣለሁ ማለት ሌላ በተግባር እየተፈጸመ ያለውን ግፍ አይደብቅም ያለው ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት፣ መንግስት ተራ ጨዋታውን ትቶ ወደልቦናው እንዲመለስ ጠይቋል፡፡ ‹‹ስርዓቱን 23 ዓመት አውቀነዋል፡፡ መታለል አይኖርብንም›› ብሏል ጋዜጠኛ ውብሸት ታዬ ከቃሊቲ፡፡

ምንጭ፡ ነገረ ኢትዮጵያ

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የ‹‹አብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲ›› የማጥመቅ ስልጠና

ከመስከረም 10/2007 ዓ.ም እስከ መስከረም 12/2007 ዓ.ም በጥቃቅንና አነስተኛ ለተደራጁ የአዲስ አበባ ነዋሪዎች በተሰጠው የ‹‹አብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲ›› የማጥመቅ ስልጠና በምርጫው ንቁ ተሳትፎ በማድረግ ኢህአዴግ እንዲመረጥ እንዲሰሩ ትዕዛዝ እንደተሰጣቸውና እቅዱን ካላሳኩ ሸዳቸውን መስሪያ ቦታውን እንደሚያጡ ማስጠንቀቂያ እንደተሰጣቸው ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገለጹ፡፡

ሰልጣኞቹ ‹‹ግብር በዝቶብናል፣ ደንብ አስከባሪዎች በየጊዜው እየመጡ ገንዘብ ይወስዱብናል፣ በየወረዳው የመልካም አስተዳደር ችግር መፍትሄ ልናኝ አልቻልንም፣ ስለዚህ እናንተን እንዴት ነው የምንመርጠው? በየምርጫው ቃል ትገባላችሁ? ካለፈ በኋላ ትረሱናላችሁ እንዴት እነመንላችሁ?›› ሲሉ ቅሬታቸውንና በገዥው ፓርቲ እምነት እንደሌላቸው መግለጻቸውን ምንጮች ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡
በሌላ በኩል በስልጠናው የተገኙት ባለስልጣናት ገዥው ፓርቲ ቃሉን እንደሚያከብርና በአነስተኛና ጥቃቅን የተደራጁት ዜጎች የተባሉትን ስራ ካከናወኑ ተጠቃሚ እንደሚሆኑ ቃል ገብተውላቸዋል ተብሏል፡፡ ተሰብሳቢው በተደጋጋሚ ችግሮችንና ኢህአዴግ ቃል ገብቶ የማይተገብራቸውን ነገሮች በማንሳታቸው በስልጠናው ከተገኙት ባለስልጣናት መካከል አንዱ ‹‹ቃላችንን አናጥፍም፣ ቃላችንን ካጠፍን የመለስን ቀን ይስጠን›› ብለው እንደማሉ ሰልጣኞቹ ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡

ሰልጣኞቹ በስተመጨረሻም የምስክር ወረቀት የተሰጣቸው ቢሆንም የምስክር ወረቀቱ ላይ የሰፈረውና የሰለጠኑት ግንኙነት እንደሌላቸው ተናግረዋል፡፡ ቀደም ሲል፣ ከስልጠናው በፊት በስልጠናው ያልተገኘ በሸድ ስራ እንደማይቀጥል የማስጠንቀቂያ ደብዳቤ ደርሷቸው እንደነበር ሰነዱን አያይዘን መዘገባችን ይታወሳል፡፡

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Politics imposes on Ethiopia choice of being left behind in a digitally competitive world

A former colleague from my previous life, who still runs strong, recently called me to share nail-biting occurrence that he learned about in his office. It was regarding an invitation extended to a renowned Ethiopian expert in Addis Abeba to participate in an international forum on video/Skype, in tandem with other experts from other regions of the world.

The organization was inviting the Ethiopian because of his expertise so that he could share his insight in the light of Ethiopia’s experiences in poverty reduction and growth and development; it boils down whether, after all, poverty is defeated or still remains daunting and, if so, the problem has its origin in vision, policies, institutions or politics.

The expert’s brief response, I was told, was “heartrending.”

His letter thanked the inviting agency for the honor it has bestowed on him. But he simply said he could not be a part of that important undertaking for three reasons:

a.   Where he lives or works electricity is more down than up and therefore there could be no reliable communication whatever the medium;

b.   Inevitably access to internet is also unavailable on demand; it is more remote, inaccessible and needlessly complicated; and,

c.   Even if these problems do not exist, he hinted that he is not free to articulate what he knows, believes in and understands best.

This telephone conversation took place a few days ago before I began browsing the just released The State of Broadband 2014 of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). When I found the publication, I decided to read it with the eyes and mind of that Ethiopian expert to understand what the real problem is. I also wanted to capture his sense of frustration and share it with the world in an article, which this piece is a humble effort in that direction.

Let me first note that I have found The State of Broadband 2014 informative; it is generous in giving a very clear sense of the global digital advancement and extent of internet connectivity in the very lucky societies. What struck me is also the fast growth of services and businesses around technological advancements, for instance, health services, which a study ITU quotes shows the possibility of saving one million lives by 2017 in disease-infested Africa, while generating $400 billion savings in the developed countries.

The ITU successfully uses good examples to demonstrates that high-speed affordable broadband connectivity to the internet is the unmistakable foundation stone of modern society. It offers widely recognized economic and social benefits in business, education and social life would immensely contribute to the knowledge society. In that regard, the ITU calls on governments to integrate ICT skills into education to ensure that the next generation is able to compete in the digital economy.

Countries with the right vision and the appropriate policies are all the time capturing the gains of ICT development by making it available and accessible for their populations, as a means to stimulate the flow of information and enrich democracy or their systems of governance.

For the vast majority, however, the opposite is true; some nations strive to serve the interests of those in power, instead of the national interests and commitment to public service as part of the everyday readiness and leadership by accountable governance in this competitive world.

Who is where on the broadband & internet connectivity map?

At it stands now, the Republic of Korea continues to have the world’s highest household broadband penetration at over 98 percent; this represents a leap of one more percent since last year. Monaco has also become a new champion, now surpassing Switzerland – last year’s world leader in fixed broadband penetration – at over 44 percent of its population, according to ITU press release.

Consequently, there are now four nations – Monaco, Switzerland, Denmark and Netherlands – where broadband penetration exceeds 40 percent. The change is that the lone champion of 2013 – Switzerland – has now been joined by three other competitors.

One may wonder where the United States is. Globally, it ranks 19th in terms of number of people online, ahead of other OECD countries like Germany (20th) and Australia (21st). What this means is that the US is behind the United Kingdom with its 12th ranking, Japan 15th and Canada 16th. The US is said to have slid from 20th to 24th place for fixed broadband subscriptions per capita, just behind Japan but ahead of Macao (China) and Estonia.

ITU reports that there are now 77 countries where over 50 percent of the population is online; this is up from 70 in 2013. The top ten countries for internet use are all located in Europe, with Iceland ranked first in the world with 96.5 percent of its people online.

Still one may wonder where our Ethiopia is. As in most thins that matter, Ethiopia moves in tandem with others at the lowest end of the spectrum. The lowest levels of internet access are mostly found in Sub-Saharan Africa, with internet available to less than 2 percent of the region’s population. This can be seen, for instance, from Ethiopia’s 1.9 percent rate, followed by Niger (1.7 percent), Sierra Leone (1.7 percent), Guinea (1.6 percent), Somalia (1.5 percent), Burundi (1.3 percent) and Eritrea (0.9 percent).

The digital divide is not narrowing, whatever the reason(s)

There is forecast that, at current global broadband growth rates, some 2.9 billion people or 40 percent of the global population will be online by the end of 2014. This means that half of the world’s population would be online by 2017. It is in response to that at the launching of the report, ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I lamented:

“Broadband uptake is accelerating, but it is unacceptable that 90 percent of people in the world’s 48 Least Developed Countries remain totally unconnected. With broadband Internet now universally recognized as a vital tool for social and economic development, we need to make connectivity a key development priority, particularly in the world’s poorest nations. Connectivity is not a luxury for the rich – rather, it is the most powerful tool mankind has ever had at its disposal to bridge development gaps in areas like health, education, environmental management and gender empowerment.”

As indicated above, basic internet user penetration in Ethiopia in 2013 was/is as low as 1.9 percent. At the household level, this rises to 2.3 percent, whereas the average internet user for developing countries stands at 29.9 percent. For an economy ranked 108th in the world, Ethiopia’s mobile broadband connectivity in 2013 is 4.8 percent. Broadband connectivity (3G and 4G(?)), the ITU says, continues to show the highest growth rate of any ICT around the world, growing 20 percent in 2014 alone.

In fact, it is surprising that Ethiopia being the political and diplomatic capital of Africa, with several organizations headquartered there as are over 100 embassies, Ethiopia’s telecom and ICT remain backward because of the politics of the regime rather than the country’s poverty. Of course, many are compelled to rely on VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals), or internet satellite, for faster communication with the outside world, including in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which made Ethiopia it’s home in 1958.

Turning to another aspect of this issue, while Africa has most of the diseases, it has not shown any meaningful growth in its broadband (0.5 percent only) connectivity. Because of that, according to ITU, especially Sub-Saharan Africa could not become beneficiary of the delivery of healthcare services that are now available to the rural areas in the underdeveloped world. Where it has happened, it says, it has led to improved response times in emergency situations, reduced isolation, and better training and equipment for healthcare workers.

Never mind that the TPLF regime is full of praises for Ethio Telecom, about which one of its officials years ago dubbed it “our cash cow”. Since the idea of service to the people does not figure prominently in the Ethiopian regime, in July 2014 Prime Minister Hailemariam also (see video here) reiterated the same to NBC. His justification was the national telecom company providing the state more than ETB six billion [$300 million] every year, which he said is now paying for the development of the railway sector.

Be that as it may, the extent of this ITU Ethiopia’s diminutive internet penetration is mark of an earnest rejection of that logic. That is why the ITU data on Ethiopia makes more sense, especially compared with the performance of other Least Developed Countries (LDCs), such as Senegal’s penetration rate of 20.9 percent, Uganda 16.2, Zambia 15.4, Gambia 14.0, Mozambique’s 5.4, Malawi’s 5.4, Lesotho’s 5.0, Tanzania’s 4.4, and etc.

In other words, at the lower end of the spectrum and in 2013 Ethiopia is ahead only of Somalia by 0.04 percent and Sierra Leone by 0.02 percent, Niger by 0.02 percent, Burundi 0.06 percent and Eritrea by 1.0 percent.

Why is Ethiopia laggard in ICT development?

In reminding the world that the Ethiopian regime’s efforts at blocking the free flow of information is not limited to imprisonment of journalists year after year; but also on the basis of evidences, Freedom House claims that the TPLF regime has been for a long time engaged in “deep packet inspection to enable [it a] more sophisticated, selective filtering of internet traffic”. The inescapable conclusion is that this retrograde interference in turn has stifled the development of internet and digital communication in our country.

Only this month, at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 27th session during the review of the human rights behavior of the Ethiopian regime and adoption of the outcome to Universal Periodic Review (UPR), member states several times discussed the removal of impediments restricting the free flow of information. Resulting from it is the handing over to the TPLF regime of 252 recommendations to be implemented to improve the human rights situation in the country.(click on the next page on E to read the report).

The regime wanted cherry picking from the 252 recommendations, informing the Council it would only accept 188 recommendations, rejecting 64 of them. This did not sit well with many member state. Perhaps the UK statement, which was attributed to Minister of Human Rights Joyce Anelay*, spoke for all when it firmly underlined, “We recommend the Government of Ethiopia to implement all URP recommendations.”

In the recommendation, there are 15 references to “freedom of expression.” Moreover, there are several calls on Ethiopia to repeal the anti-terrorism and anti-civil society laws, accusing them of stifling dissent and the activities of independent journalists.

What has been noticed in TPLF’s Ethiopia, which is enwrapped in slick and deceitful propaganda, is that it suffers severe lack of accountability as a state. That many felt could be the reason why it loves to exercise authority without any regard to the rights of the broader society, its needs for decent public service, such as reasonable access to food, water, electricity and telecom services, etc.

In early August 2014, at a press conference, Ethio Telecom announced that it has completed its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Addis Abeba to service 400,000 customers. In September 2014, there is not the slightest change in the usual status of unavailability of services.

Of course, all along the regime has been making ‘services unavailable’ since it has been deploying it to spy on the Ethiopian opposition parties. None has to this day better exposed the crimes in this regard than senior ruling party cadre Ermias Legesse, who served as state minister. After abandoning the regime, he recently published the የመለስ “ትሩፋቶች”: ባለቤት አልባ ከተማ , which unveiled so many of the regime’s ploys and gimmicks. In his days, he recalled he and his colleagues received information from the national intelligence, which on all occasions eavesdrops on citizens and especially opposition party members to help the ruling party design strategy to counter their politics as its opponents, as if the taxpayers were and obliged to pay for its political competition.

The BBC also recently released information how the Ethiopian regime uses foreign kit to spy on opponents of the regime, each time with more modern equipment, as if opposition parties were foreign enemies of the nation and dissenting opinion a crime.

How could the civilized world tolerate this and give its financial and political support to the repression of Ethiopians, which they cannot support in their own countries and against their peoples?

In its conclusion, The State of Broadband 2014 counsels developing nations:

“Developing countries cannot afford to remain on the sidelines, as the digital revolution puts knowledge economies and societies into a dominant position with global globalization. The real information revolution lies in the growing day-by-day use of internet-enabled devices in all parts of our lives. And it is this era of mass connectivity – delivering small, but incremental changes to the ways in which each individual does things – that promises to transform development and global welfare.”

We now see in Ethiopia that our nation has not been blessed for this. That is why the status quo needs to change!

by Keffyalew Gebremedhin – The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)

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FAJ Calls on Ethiopia to Free Journalists Jailed

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) has today called on the government of Ethiopia to free all journalists in jail and to create the conditions for tens of journalists in exile to return home and work for their country’s development.  

 “We are very concerned about persistent reports of press freedom violations in Ethiopia and the increasing number of journalists in jail and in exile” said Mohamed Garba, President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ). “I join my voice to call on the Ethiopian Government to engage the media through genuine dialogue and self-regulation”

 The Ethiopian Government Minister for Communication Affairs, Mr. Redwan Hussien on Thursday 18 September received a three-man delegation comprising Muheldin Titawi, President of the Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA), Alexandre Niyungeko, Secretary General of EAJA, and the Africa Director of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Gabriel Baglo. The delegation paid a courtesy visit to Minister Hussien on the sidelines of a workshop on investigative journalism and corruption reporting for a group of 20 Ethiopian Journalists co-organized by the Ethiopian National Journalists Union (ENJU) and Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA) in Addis Ababa.

 Addressing the delegation, the Minister said Ethiopia is committed to ensuring freedom of expression, and expressed Ethiopia's support to bring the issue of journalists' safety in the upcoming Summit of African Union Heads of State. The minister briefed the delegation about the recent court ruling that closed six publications which resulted in 14 journalists going into exile. The Minister said that the journalists had no justification to run away as they were not charged. He reiterated the commitment of the Ethiopian government to respect the diversity of thoughts as long as ethical journalism is exercised. He said Ethiopia's democracy is based on accepting and acknowledging ethnic, religious and ideological differences and this is manifested in the Constitution which everyone should uphold.

The delegation reminded the Minister that in the region, Ethiopia and Eritrea have produced more journalists in jail and in exile, and that this is a bad image for the country that hosts the African Union Commission. The delegation called on the Ethiopian Government to release all journalists in jail and to create the conditions for the return of all journalists in exile. The delegation expressed the commitment of African journalists’ organisations to work with the Ethiopian government and with journalists for the creation and support for ethical media reporting through self-regulation.

 "We are here to support African journalism with African values; we are ready to give any support to Ethiopian journalists in the light of African shared values and African Union instruments such as the Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa, and the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance” said the delegation.

Source http://www.ifj.org/nc/news-single-view/backpid/32/article/faj-calls-on-ethiopia-to-free-journalists-jailed-1/

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The UN Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of the UPR of Ethiopia

Statement from HRLHA

September 21, 2014

The UN Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Ethiopia on September 19, 2014. On that date, Ethiopia was given 252 recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council member States[1]to improve human rights infringements in the country, based on the general human rights situation assessment made to Ethiopia on May 2014 at UPR.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa welcomes the adoption of the outcome of the UPR on Ethiopia and appreciates the majority of the UN Human Rights Council member states’ recognition that one of their members, Ethiopia, has committed gross human rights abuses in its own country contrary to its responsibility to protect and promote human rights globally.  Most of the Recommendations the Ethiopian Government received on September 19, 2014 were similar to the 2009 recommendations that were given to the same country during the first round of UPR human rights situation assessment in Ethiopia[2]. This proves that the human rights situation in Ethiopia continues to deteriorate.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa also welcomes the Ethiopian government for its courage of admitting its wrongdoings and acknowledged most of the recommendations and promise to work further for their improvements. The HRLHA looks forward the Government of Ethiopia to shows its commitment to fulfil its promises, and not to put them aside until the next UPR comes in four years (2019)

However, the government of Ethiopia failed again to accept the recommendations not to use the anti-terrorism proclamation it adopted in 2009 to suppress fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and demonstrations. The country also rejected the recommendation of the member states to permit a special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association to travel to Ethiopia to advise the Government.

Today, thousands of people are languishing in prison because they formed their own political organizations or supported different political groups other than EPRDF.  Thousands were indiscriminately brutalized in Oromia, Ogadenia, Gambela, Benshangul and other regions because they demanded their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly, demonstration and expression.   These and other human rights atrocities in Ethiopia were reported by national and international human rights organizations, and international mass media, including foreign governments and NGOs. The Government of Ethiopia has repeatedly denied all these credible reports and continued with its systematic ethnic cleansing.

The HRLHA appreciates the UN Human Rights Council members who have provided valuable recommendations that have exposed the atrocity of the Ethiopian Government against defenceless civilians and the HRLHA urges them to put pressure on the government of Ethiopia to accept those recommendations it has rejected and put them into practice.

Finally, the HRLHA strongly supports the recommendations made by UN Human Rights Council member states and urges the Ethiopian Government to reverse its rejection of some recommendations, including:

• Ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC),
• Ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, OPCAT,
• Permitting the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association to travel to Ethiopia to advise the Government;
• Improving conditions in detention facilities by training personnel to investigate and prosecute all alleged cases of torture, and ratify OPCAT,
• Repealing the Charities and Societies Proclamation in order to promote the development of an independent civil society “Allowing Ethiopia’s population to operate freely”
• Removing vague provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation that can be used to criminalize the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and association and ensure that criminal prosecutions do not limit the freedom of expression of civil society, opposition politicians and independent media ;

and use this opportunity to improve its human rights record.

[1]  UPR Info’s 2RP (responses to recommendations), List of all recommendations made to Ethiopia and its responses to them,    http://www.upr-info.org/en/review/Ethiopia/Session-19—April-2014/UPR-Info%E2%80%99s-2RP-%28responses-to-recommendations%29#top

[2]UPR Info’s 2RP (responses to recommendations),List of all recommendations made to Ethiopia and its responses, http://www.upr-info.org/en/review/Ethiopia/Session-06—November-2009/UPR-Info%E2%80%99s-2RP-%28responses-to-recommendations%29#top

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UN experts urge Ethiopia to stop using anti-terrorism legislation to curb human rights

GENEVA (18 September 2014) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* today urged the Government of Ethiopia to stop misusing anti-terrorism legislation to curb freedoms of expression and association in the country, amid reports that people continue to be detained arbitrarily.

The experts’ call comes on the eve of the consideration by Ethiopia of a series of recommendations made earlier this year by members of the Human Rights Council in a process known as the Universal Periodic Review which applies equally to all 193 UN Members States. These recommendations are aimed at improving the protection and promotion of human rights in the country, including in the context of counter-terrorism measures.

“Two years after we first raised the alarm, we are still receiving numerous reports on how the anti-terrorism law is being used to target journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and opposition politicians in Ethiopia,” the experts said. “Torture and inhuman treatment in detention are gross violations of fundamental human rights.”

“Confronting terrorism is important, but it has to be done in adherence to international human rights to be effective,” the independent experts stressed. “Anti-terrorism provisions need to be clearly defined in Ethiopian criminal law, and they must not be abused.”

The experts have repeatedly highlighted issues such as unfair trials, with defendants often having no access to a lawyer. “The right to a fair trial, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to freedom of association continue to be violated by the application of the anti-terrorism law,” they warned.

“We call upon the Government of Ethiopia to free all persons detained arbitrarily under the pretext of countering terrorism,” the experts said. “Let journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and religious leaders carry out their legitimate work without fear of intimidation and incarceration.”

The human rights experts reiterated their call on the Ethiopian authorities to respect individuals’ fundamental rights and to apply anti-terrorism legislation cautiously and in accordance with Ethiopia’s international human rights obligations.

“We also urge the Government of Ethiopia to respond positively to the outstanding request to visit by the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on the situation of human rights defenders,” they concluded.

Source: United Nations Human Rights

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Protecting Freedom of Expression, in Ethiopia and Beyond

In July 2012, Eskinder Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison. In June 2011, Reeyot Alemu was arrested and convicted to 14 years of imprisonment, reduced to five on appeal.

Their crimes? Practicing journalism in Ethiopia.

Nega and Alemu are award-winning journalists who shared the prestigious Human Rights Watch Hellman-Hammett Award in 2012. For Nega, whose first child was born while he and his wife were in custody for treason , the arrest came days after publishing a column that criticized the Ethiopian government’s detainment of journalists as suspected terrorists. For Alemu, a former high school English teacher, the arrest came days after she critiqued the ruling political party in an independent newspaper later shut down by the government.

The basis for the charges against these journalists isEthiopia’s 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, which contains overly vague provisions that have been used by the government to silence its critics. Since the Proclamation was adopted, more than 30 journalists have been convicted on terrorism-related charges.

Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of working on behalf of Nega and Alemu as a fellow with the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI). The small London-based non-profit works directly with journalists and bloggers who have been prosecuted for exercising their protected right to freedom of expression. With the help of partner organizations, MLDI’s staff are currently working on 107 cases in 41 countries; the organization’s success rate in receiving favorable decisions hovers around 70 percent.

Courtesy: Amnesty International

Because I studied journalism before coming to law school, I know the range of challenges American journalists face, from accessing information to protecting sources to the threat of civil liability. Still, it was always clear to me that the First Amendment by and large provides a greater amount of protection to journalists than any other national legal system. As my work at MLDI made clear this summer, freedom of expression is severely restricted in other countries—by censorship, regulations, state-operated monopolies, criminal liability, and physical threat, among others.

For example, on my very first day, I worked on a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the case of Le Quoc Quan, a Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger who was wrongfully prosecuted on trumped up charges of tax evasion. Throughout my internship, I also researched case law from regional courts on freedom of expression, helped with an amicus curiae submission before the High Court of South Africa in a case about criminal defamation, and worked on a case in defense of a blogger in Singapore who is being sued by Lee Hsien Loong, the country’s prime minister.

When Nani Jansen, MLDI’s legal director, filed a submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on behalf of Nega and Alemu, I had the opportunity to do preparatory work for the submission. I also helped in the filing of submissions to international and regional courts on behalf of Nega and Alemu.

At this point, their chances for release are still unknown, but the situation remains dire. In a New York Times Op-Ed, “Letter from Ethiopia’s Gulag,” Nega wrote about gruesome prison conditions, including three toilets for about 1,000 prisoners. Alemu’s health continues to deteriorate: After receiving an operation to remove a lump in her breast—without the use of anesthesia—she was immediately sent back to the prison without proper recovery time, and she has since been denied further treatment.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights remains one of the last options for these two journalists. When the Commission convenes its next session on October 22nd, I am hopeful it will recognize their case is admissible and that the Ethiopian government has used the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to systematically violate the right to freedom of expression. Even if the Commission decides the case is admissible, a decision on the merits is far away. While the ruling on admissability will not immediately free Nega and Alemu, together with more international pressure, the Commission may eventually persuade Ethiopia that the cost of jailing journalists is too high.
Lindsay Church
Lindsay Church, JD ‘16, will join the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford this January as a visiting research fellow. While there, she will work on a paper she began this summer, “International Influence on Freedom of Expression in Ethiopia: An Analysis of the Impact of Ethiopia’s Relations with the United States and China.”

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የአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች የሕወሃት/ኢሕአዴግን ስብሰብ ረግጠው ወጡ !

ገዢው ፓርቲ ኢሕአዴግ፣ ሕግ መንግስቱን በጣሰና የከፍተኛ ተቋማት ገለልተኛነትን በመጋፋት፣ ተቋማት የሚጠበቅባቸውን የሞያ ስልጠና ከመስጠት አልፈው ተራ የፕሮፖጋንዳ መንዢያ ቦታዎች እንዲሆኑ በማድረግ፣ የፖለቲክ ስልጠና በሚል፣ የተለያዩ ስብሰባዎችን በተለያዩ የአገሪቷ ክፍሎች እየጠራ መሆኑ ይታወቃል። በስብሰባዎቹ ተማሪዎች ለባለስልጣናቱ የተለያዩ ጥያቄዎች በመጠየቅ፣ ስልጠናዎቹ እንደታሰበው አለመሄዳቸው በስፋት ተዘግቧል።

በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ በተደረገው ስብሰባ፣ አገዛዙን ወክለው የመጡት አቶ ሬድዋን ሁሴን በሚናገሩበት ጊዜ ተማሪዎች ስብሰባዉ ረግጠነው እንደወጡ ዘገባዎች ይጠቁማሉ። በከፍተኛ ተቋማት የሚገኙ ተማሪዎች በዘር በመከፋፈል፣ መግባባትና መመካከር እንዳይኖር ማድረጉ፣ ዋን መሳርያው የሆነው ገዢው ፓርቲ፣ ሰሞኑ በከፍተኛ ተምህርት ተቋማት እየታየ ያለው የተማሪዎች መተባበር፣ ትልቅ ራስ ምታት እንደፈጠረም ተንታኞች ይናገራሉ።

« የወያኔን ስብሰብን ርግጦ እስከ መዉጣት ሰው ከደረሰ፣ ፖለቲካው መክረሩን አመላካች ነው» ያሉት በጉዳዩ ላይ ያነጋገርናቸው የፖለቲካ ተንታኝ « በተለይም ደግሞ የተማሪዎች ተቃዉሞ በአንድ ቦታ ብቻ ሳይሆን በሁልም የአገርቷ ክፍሎች ባሉ ተቋማት መሆኑ፣ ለአገዛዙ ሁኔታዎች በጣም ያወሳስበዋል» ሲሉ ሕወሃት/ኢሕአዴግ በአስገዳጅነት እያደረገ ያለው የተማሪዎች ስልጠና ፣ በራሱ እግር ላይ ሽጉጥ እንደመተኮስ እንደሆነበት ይናገራሉ።

በደርግ ጊዜ ከፍተኛ ተቋማት ዲያለከትካል ማቴሪኡአልም የኮሚኒስ ማኒፌስቶ የመሳሰሉ ኮርሶችን ተማሪዎች እንዲወስዱ ይደረግ እንደነበረ ያስታወሱት እኝሁ ተንታኝ፣ አሁንም ሕወሃት/ኢሕአዴግ በኢቲቪና በመሳሰሉት ሕዝብን የሚያደነቁረው አንሶት፣ ተማሪዎች፣ ሳይንስ፣ አርት፣ ኢንጂነሪን፣ ሕክና በሚማሩበት ተቋማት ፣ ለእውቀታቸዉና ለጊዜያቸው የማይመጥን ፣ ተራና ኋላቀር ስልጠናዎችን ለመስጠት መሞከሩ፣ ዳግማዊ ደርግ መሆኑን የሚያመላከት እንደሆነ አክለው ይናገራሉ።

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Ethiopia -Freedom of the Press 2014 report

Any hopes for improvements in press freedom following the August 2012 death of Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi were dashed in 2013 as new prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn remained firmly on the course of his predecessor, resisting calls for a more open media environment. The government continued to wield the draconian antiterrorism law to stifle dissent, targeting both print and online journalists—even in absentia—while charges such as “outrages against the constitution” or “defaming the government” were levied against other critical voices. Ethiopia remained the second-worst jailer of journalists in Africa in 2013, after Eritrea.

While the constitution guarantees freedom of the press, the 2005 criminal code contains many provisions that limit this right, including restrictions on “obscene” communication, criminal defamation, and criticism of public officials. In February 2013, a Federal High Court judge revived criminal defamation and false publication charges against Feteh editor Temesgen Desalegn. The charges—previously dropped in August 2012—stem from articles published in the now-defunct independent weekly prior to Meles’s death in August 2012, criticizing the government’s policies against the country’s Muslim minority. In December, Asfaw Berhanu, a journalist with the Reporter newspaper, was convicted of “spreading false rumors” and sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for a story he wrote about the dismissal of three state government officials that later proved to be untrue. The court verdict was handed down even though the Reporter published of a front-page retraction and dismissed Asfaw over the story.

The 2009 antiterrorism law, ostensibly designed to confront the challenges posed by armed insurgencies, has been used extensively against journalists. Most journalists prosecuted under the law were accused of collaboration with groups labeled as terrorist organizations simply for publishing information about those groups or for conducting interviews with their leaders. Ethiopia was the target of numerous international campaigns supporting journalists convicted under the antiterrorism law in 2013, but to little effect. In particular, Eskinder Nega, a journalist and blogger who has been jailed multiple times for his critical reporting, has inspired a global campaign for his release and become an international face of the press freedom movement. Despite the support of press freedom and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, PEN America, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Supreme Court on May 2 confirmed Nega’s sentence of 18 years in prison, accusing him of supporting terrorist activities. Reeyot Alemu Gobebo, a journalist with Feteh, was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on May 3 but continues to serve out her five-year jail term—reduced on appeal from the previous 14—also on charges of terrorism. Three other journalists are currently serving sentences under the antiterrorism law, while two Eritrean journalists have been imprisoned without charge since 2006, also for suspected terrorist activities.

Private media and press freedom groups criticized the 2008 Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation for imposing restrictions on the practice of journalism and harsh sanctions for violations. In 2012, the Parliament expanded on the theme of the 2009 antiterrorism law by passing the Telecom Fraud Offences Proclamation, which prescribes significant fines and up to eight years in prison for those convicted of using the telecommunications network to disseminate a “terrorizing message.” The law also criminalizes the use of popular voice over IP (VoIP) communications software such as Skype for commercial purposes or to bypass the monopoly of state-owned Ethio-Telecom.

The selective approach taken by the government in implementing laws and the lack of an independent judiciary continues to be of grave concern. Journalists have few guarantees that they will receive a fair trial, and charges are often filed arbitrarily in response to personal disputes. Court cases can continue for years, and many journalists have multiple charges pending against them.

Ethiopia has one of the continent’s most progressive freedom of information laws, although access to public information is largely restricted in practice, and the government has traditionally allowed only state-owned media outlets to cover official events. The 2009 Proclamation for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies has crippled the ability of nongovernmental organizations to monitor and advocate for media freedom and other human rights issues, in part by restricting foreign funding and imposing rigid and intrusive spending rules.

Censorship and self-censorship are routinely practiced. Many private newspapers report that officials attempt to control content through article placement requests and telephone calls to editors about stories that are critical of the government. The government also revoked the publication licenses of two newspapers in 2013—theAddis Times and Le’ilena—over minor regulatory infractions, including failure to notify the media regulator of a change of address. Meanwhile, a third outlet, Radio Bilal, was forced to close after two of its journalists were arrested in connection with their coverage of mass protests by the Muslim community against government policies threatening their religious freedoms. Coverage of the peaceful demonstrations, which began in 2012, has been met with severe reprisals by Ethiopian authorities: the editor and managing director of the Muslim weekly Ye Muslimoch Guday are currently serving jail time on terrorist-related charges and their paper has been shuttered.

The government restricts access to numerous websites, including independent and international news sites, opposition websites, and the sites of groups designated as terrorist organizations. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were also reported to be inaccessible during the year. Controversial political blogs, many of which are based abroad, are blocked, preventing important voices from contributing to the local political debate. Tor, a software package that allows users to circumvent internet filtering and browse the web anonymously, has been blocked since Ethio-Telecom adopted deep packet inspection (DPI) to control internet traffic in 2012. In 2013, the targeting of opposing voices took a new turn, as employees of the independent Ethiopian Satellite Television Service (ESAT), a satellite broadcaster run by diaspora journalists operating abroad, were targeted with sophisticated spyware used to copy files, obtain passwords, and intercept Skype calls and instant messages.

Harassment and intimidation of critical journalists in Ethiopia remains a common practice among law enforcement officials, extending even into the prison system, according to a report released in October 2013 by Human Rights Watch. The report documents dozens of cases of abuse and mistreatment of inmates at the Maekelawi detention center—the main federal facility for political prisoners in Addis Ababa—including unlawful interrogation tactics and denial of access to basic needs, as well as to family members and lawyers, in order to coerce inmates into confessions.

The number of print outlets covering politics decreased significantly after 2005, while weekly papers and magazines on business and lifestyle topics—catering to the growing urban middle class—are proliferating. The state operates the only national television station and owns almost all radio outlets, the primary sources of information for Ethiopians. State-controlled media are biased toward the government and the ruling party. Broadcasting law prohibits any political, religious, or foreign entities from owning stations. In 2007, a new broadcasting authority was created, and the first licenses were awarded to private FM stations in the capital owned by individuals seen as friendly to the ruling party. The signals of international broadcasters Deutsche Welle and Voice of America (VOA) have occasionally been jammed, reportedly with technical support from the Chinese government.

Fear of prosecution and heavy taxes on the publishing process have effectively concentrated the printing industry in the hands of the largest state-run printer, Berhanena Selam Printing Press. In 2012, Berhanena Selam, which has a near monopoly, introduced a revised “standard contract” that allows it to refuse distribution of content deemed to be contrary to state interests. Publishers must submit to the contract or risk losing their printing privileges. The printer voided agreements with Feteh and the opposition daily Finote Netsanet in 2012, effectively putting them out of business. By giving the state enterprise the power to vet and review articles before printing them, the new contract essentially reestablished official prepublication censorship in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia and neighboring Djibouti, which has a population of less than a million, are the only countries in Africa to maintain a complete monopoly on telecommunications, including provision of internet service. With the support of the Chinese government, which has provided loans exceeding $3 billion to the Ethiopian government to expand telecommunication access, state controlled Ethio-telecom managed to raise mobile connectivity to nearly 29 percent of the population in 2013, though internet connectivity remained at a meagre 2 percent. This progress, however, still leaves Ethiopia near the bottom of the rankings for Africa. The government’s monopoly on the telecommunication sector has allowed it to contain the destabilizing potential of new communication technologies, while it continues to invest massive resources in these technologies to support its own ambitious state surveillance apparatus.

Source- http://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2014/ethiopia#.VBX1i_mSySo

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