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Ethiopian civic society law extremely restrictive, HRW
By Simegnish Yekoye
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - In its 2010 report, Human Right Watch cited Ethiopia as one of the countries that uses extremely restrictive regulations to stifle the work of nongovernmental organizations.
Ethiopia passed a new civil society law in January and the human right activists says the provisions of the law make most independent human rights work impossible.
The law makes any work that touches on human rights or governance issues illegal if carried out by foreign non-governmental organizations, and labels any Ethiopian that receives more than 10 percent of its funding from sources outside of Ethiopia as ‘Foreign’.
The report also denounced the new counterterrorism law passed in July saying it permits the government and security forces to prosecute political protesters and non-violent expressions of dissent as acts of terrorism.
The anti-terrorism law provides broad powers to the police, and harsh criminal penalties can be applied to political protesters and others who engage in acts of nonviolent political dissent.
“Some of its provisions appear tailored less towards addressing terrorism and more towards allowing for heavy-handed response to mass public unrest, like that which followed Ethiopia’s 2005 elections,” the report reads.
The 20th annual review of Human Right watch 612 page report comprises human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major human rights trends in more than 90 nations and territories worldwide, reflecting the extensive work carried out in 2009 by the organization’s staff.
Citing Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan as an example HRW noted that some governments are so abusive against individuals and organizations that no domestic human rights movement can function.
In Libya, while limited improvements are under way, including expanded space for freedom of expression, repressive laws continue to stifle free expression and association, and abuses by the internal security agency remain the norm.
It in the introductory part of the report Human Rights Watch said the only way abusive governments will end their assault on rights defenders is if other governments that support human rights make rights a central part of their bilateral relations.
"Governments that support human rights need to speak out, to make respecting human rights the bedrock of their diplomacy - and of their own practices," Executive Director of Human Right Watch Kenneth Roth said. "They need to demand real change from abusive governments."