Pending legislation threatens human rights in Ethiopia

“Internal stability and anti-terrorism are main focuses for the United States in Ethiopia,” said David Kramer, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Kramer was part of a panel of experts at the Center for Strategic & International Studies who held a discussion today on “Human Rights and Governance in Ethiopia.”

“We have seen a number of efforts that are perceived in many circles, in Ethiopia and here, of trying to close the political space in Ethiopia. Of immediate concern is the latest draft of the Charities and Societies Proclamation as well as the Media Law. Both of these run the risk of curbing freedom of speech, civic development and capacity building that we feel are very important to development of a democratic system and a respect to human rights in that country,” said Kramer.

Yoseph Mulugeta Badwaza, Secretary General of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, described the likely impact of the pending legislation known as the “CSO Bill,” which threatens non-governmental organizations that receive foreign contributions in support of human rights, civic education, and peace building activities. Ethiopia is currently the third largest recipient of U.S. aid in the African continent, and the panel agreed this legislation would severely hamper human rights regulation in the country.

Chris Albin-Lackey of Human Rights Watch said the draft of this legislation “isn’t just important in it of itself, it’s also very important as a bellwether and a very alarming signal about the overall direction that Ethiopia is moving in.”