I. Introduction
1. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) is a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter), having ratified it on 16 June 1998.
2. Pursuant to Article 62 of the African Charter, Ethiopia submitted its 1st to 4th Periodic Report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission) at its 46th Ordinary Session, held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 11 to 25 November 2009.
3. The present Report, which covers the period from 2010 to 2014, combines the 5th and 6th Periodic Reports (the Report). The Report was considered by the Commission during its 56th Ordinary Session, held from 21 April to 7 May 2015, in Banjul, The Gambia.
4. The Report was presented to the Commission by the delegation from Ethiopia (the delegation), led by H.E Ato Zadig Abreha Berhe, General Director of the Office of National Council for Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and accompanied by the following officials:
- Ato Dereje Tegyyebelu, Director for Legal Services , Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs; and
- Ato Eyob Getachew, Public Prosecutor/International Cooperation, Ministry of Justice.
5. The Report highlights developments which took place in Ethiopia in the promotion and protection of human rights, and the legislative, administrative and judicial measures put in place to comply with its obligations under the African Charter.
6. The present Concluding Observations and Recommendations give an account of the positive aspects, the factors restricting the enjoyment of human rights and the areas of concern regarding exercise of human rights in Ethiopia. The Commission makes recommendations to the Government of Ethiopia on measures for strengthening the enjoyment of human rights as guaranteed by the African Charter, as well as other relevant regional and international human rights instruments.
