Promoting human rights in Ethiopia

Context

Ethiopia has witnessed a series of political reforms since 2018, showing a positive development in human rights protection. However, existing ethno-nationalistic and regional tensions have fuelled violent conflicts, severely undermining human rights and resulting in multifaced negative impacts. By January 2024, Ethiopia had 3.5 million internally displaced persons as a direct result of internal conflicts, especially between regions and clans, as well as property disputes. Notably, the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern region Tigray from 2020 to 2022 saw various human rights violations.

Gender inequality presents another significant challenge. Disparities exist in pay, education, as well as access to finance and land ownership. Violence against women and children, especially sexual and gender-based violence amidst conflict, remains high, necessitating protection for victims and witnesses. Although officially illegal, female genital mutilation and child marriage are still widespread practices.

Objective

The institutional effectiveness and independence of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has improved.

Approach

The project contributes to a basket fund that directly supports the autonomy, professionalisation and increased effectiveness of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. This fund provides the necessary financial support for the commission to fulfil its mandate of promoting and protecting human rights in cooperation with state and non-state actors, as well as with regional and international institutions.

Additionally, the project assigns an integrated expert to the commission in the role of information technology (IT) team leader, focusing on enhancing the information and communication technology (ICT) service and infrastructure of the commission.

Last update: March 2024