Cite as, national legislative bodies national authorities, ethiopia. Pdf the impact of ethiopias antiterrorism law on freedom. Esat, ethiopian news, daily ethiopian news, esat tv, esat radio, ethiopia. Comment on ethiopian antiterrorism proclamation article 19, london. It was also noted that the revised bill would enable to bridge the gaps in the preceding anti terrorism proclamation no. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation. Jan 20, 2011 a proclamation on anti terrorism proclamation no. Human rights watch has repeatedly raised serious concerns about ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation of 2009, including its overly broad definition of terrorist acts, which can include acts of peaceful protest that result in the disruption of any public services. Proclamation on antiterrorism, published in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal republic of ethiopia on 28 august 2009 proclamation against international standards on freedom of expression.
This paper analyses ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights. The detainees had been charged with crimes under the anti terrorism proclamation and the criminal code. Ethiopia s ruling party says changes would not be made to the draconian anti terrorism proclamation atp, let alone scrapping the law altogether. Whereas, the right of the people to live in peace, freedom and security has to be protected, at all times, from the threat of terrorism. Article 19 comments on anti terrorism proclamation article 19 today issues its analysis of the ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation 2009 and calls for the government to fully recognise the right to freedom of expression under international and regional human rights law. Today the oromo people are facing state terrorism, massive human rights violations, and hidden genocide from the tigrayanled ethiopian government because of their economic resources and their struggle for national selfdetermination and democracy. Ethiopian parliament ethiopia pdf consulted on 20101104 abstractcitation. Short title this proclamation may be cited as the federal courts proclamation no. This regulation is issued by the council of ministers pursuant to article 34 of the definition of powers and duties of the executive organs of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia proclamation no. Obama has expressed keen interest in learning from ethiopia s counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategies. This paper analyses ethiopia s draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards. Members of parliament endorsed the bill, named proclamation to provide for prevention and suppression terrorism crimes, in majority vote with one abstention. A thesis submitted for the degree of phd at the university.
Pdf some points on the ethiopian antiterrorism law from. Part i of the comment surveys the background of past media rights. Whereas, terrorism is a danger to the peace, security and development of the country and a serious threat to the peace and security of the world at. Copy of the proclamation is attached to this comment, see appendix 1. Whereas, terrorism is a danger to the peace, security and development of the country and a serious threat to the peace and security of the world at large. Ethiopia s anti terrorism law the oakland institute. Federal negarit gazeta establishment proclamation resources. According to an office publication removing the nations most controversial proclamation, placing a more watered down version in the regular criminal code and amending the law are all under consideration. The information has been carefully selected and compiled from unhcrs global network of field. Short title part one general this proclamation may be cited as the investment proclamation no. Terrorism by antiterrorism law lately, meles zenawi, the dictator in ethiopia, has been rounding up dissidents, journalists, opposition party political leaders and members under a diktat known as antiterrorism proclamation no. By sasahulh yalew, lecturer in law tigrai online, october 14, 20.
The draft law is due for consideration in the council of ministers. The security council had not in the beginning preempted the risk of counter terrorism measures violating counter terrorism human rights as it failed to immediately refer to states. The 20 edition of the human rights and democracy report of the government of the united kingdom uk severely criticized the government of ethiopia for its application of its anti terrorism proclamation and the charities and societies proclamation, which hampers the activity of the opposition camp of the country. The identity of those suspected for terrorism and arrested based on the law also gave this institutions a reason to take ethiopia a regular destination for their condemnations. We recently condemned the application of the anti terrorism proclamation. Journalists remain in detention under antiterror proclamation. Ethiopian anti terrorism law, financing of terrorism, money laundering, terrorism. Corruption crimes proclamation, page 8152 proclamation no, 88112015 a proc lamation to proylne eor the crimes of corrllptiqn wehreas, it is fou nd necessary to clarify and amend some provisions in the criminal code of il,e 2004 of ihe federal democratic republic of ethiopia relating to corruption crimes which are. Whereas, money laundering and the financing of terrorism as it not only threaten security, but also compromise the stability, transparency, soundness and efficiency of the financial system. The law would help ethiopia to avert and control terrorism, defend the country from threats of terrorism on the top of sustaining peace and security. Proclamation on anti terrorism, no 652 of 2009, article 5e bw. Terrorism proclamation antiterror law have severely undermined civil society and. Aug 30, 20 ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to freedom of expression. The proclamation also extends aspects of the anti terrorism proclamation and the criminal code to electronic communications.
Measures to control terrorist organizations and property part six institutions that followup cases of terrorism part seven. Open request on ethiopia antiterrorism law, proclamation. Part one general part two terrorism and related crimes part three preventive and investigative measures part four evidentiary and procedural rules part five measures to control terrorist organizations and property part six institutions that followup. The government used the similarly repressive 2009 anti terrorism proclamation s broad provisions as the basis to arrest, detain, and prosecute scores of journalists and political opposition. Ethiopian lawmakers ratify revised antiterrorism bill. Amnesty international, human rights watch, committee to protect journalists cpj, all have openly criticized ethiopia for adopting the anti terrorism proclamation. Old ethiopian newspapers berhanena selam proclamation no. Employment income tax is a tax on the earnings of an employee. Thc supervising body shall also have thc powcr to determine and execute compensation to he paid by one party to the other. A tool to stifle dissent, authored by lawyers from leading international law firms, provides an indepth and damning analysis of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation. This article analyses the impact of ethiopias antiterrorism law on the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression and information.
The law drew international condemnation for granting the government broad power to criminalize reporting that it claims supports or glorifies terrorist groups. Ethiopian federal high court convicted two swedish journalists on. Ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to. The conformity of ethiopian anti terrorism proclamation with. Even though the proclamation was intended to provide adequate legal. But first it will tell the stories of just a small number of those unjustly targeted by the law. Part one general part two terrorism and related crimes part three preventive and investigative measures part four evidentiary and procedural rules part five measures to control terrorist organizations and property part six institutions that. Apr 30, 2008 customs regulations in ethiopia details written by administrator published on 30 april 2008 category. Federal attorneygeneral birhanu tsegaye, deflected questions about possibly removing the anti terrorism law from the books during a press conference held at his office on friday. Antiterrorism proclamation could be rescinded capital. Democratic republic of ethiopia, it is hereby proclaimed as follows.
An examination of ethiopias anti terrorism proclamation. Terrorism by anti terrorism law lately, meles zenawi, the dictator in ethiopia, has been rounding up dissidents, journalists, opposition party political leaders and members under a diktat known as antiterrorism proclamation no. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. How to be productive at home from a remote work veteran. The full text of the anti terrorism proclamation no.
They say, you must have been involved in something that got you suspected of terrorism. As a living victim of misuse of the anti terrorism proclamation atp in ethiopia, i face a heartbreaking judgement oftentimes from ordinary citizens who knew that i was once charged of the atp. Ethiopia was an active participant in the aus counterterrorism efforts and participated in its center for study and research on terrorism and in meetings of the committee of intelligence and. The government used the law to force the closure of the independent addis neger in late 2009, dealing a serious blow to key independent voices in the. In august 2009, ethiopia enacted legislation to counter terrorism anti terrorism proclamation no. This diktat approved on a 28691 vote of the rubberstamp parliament is so arbitrary and. Draft investment proclamation ethiopia draft excise proclamation ethiopia draft state enterprises proclamation ethiopia volume 23 cassation decisions prosperity party program.
Ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation and the right to freedom of expression. This paper analyses ethiopias draft antiterrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its. The proclamation was adopted on 7 july 2009 and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia official gazette 15th year no. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. Open request on ethiopia anti terrorism law, proclamation 6522009 united nations secretary general, his excellency ban kimoon prime minster of ethiopia, au chair person his excellency hilemariam desalgne president of ethiopia, his excellency girma woldegiorgis african union commissioner chairperson, his excellency dr nkosazana dlamini zuma. On wednesday 17 july 20, members of the european parliaments subcommittee on human rights visited ethiopia and urged the government to release journalists and opposition activists imprisoned under the countrys antiterrorism proclamation no. This article is the right of thought, opinion and expression. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism law human. The law was developed to fill the gaps in the previous anti terrorism proclamation no. By framing the adoption and execution of the eatp as an outcome of eprdfs longterm hegemonic project coalesced in. The new legislation on charities and societies, proclamation no. Instead, yonatan tesfaye, a former spokesman of the semayawi blue party, was detained in december 2015 on charges under article 4 of ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation. Ethiopia freedom house freedom on the net 2011 3 internet and mobilephone services were introduced in ethiopia in 1997 and 1999, respectively.
Definitions in this proclamation, unless the context otherwise requires. An examination of ethiopias anti terrorism proclamation on. The scope of this category includes pages whose subjects relate to terrorism, a contentious label valueladen labelssuch as calling an organization andor individual a terroristmay express contentious opinion and are best avoided unless widely used by reliable sources to describe the subject, in which case use intext. This content is exclusively provided by fao faolex ecolex it aims at preventing or at least managing down to levels of insignificance the adverse effects of modified organisms. Unhcr is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Article 19 has extensive experience of working on freedom of expression and information issues in ethiopia. Ethiopias highly controversial antiterrorism law, proclamation no. Ethiopia recognized the right to freedom of expression. Establishment of the secretariat of the house of peoples representatives and of the house of the federation proclamation. The enactment results from an acknowledgment that terrorism is a threat to human rights, peace and security of not only the people in ethiopia, but to the rest of the world preamble of ethiopia anti terrorism proclamation, 2009. The ethiopian satellite television and radio esat no.
Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism law human rights watch. From march 2011 to december 2011 at least 108 opposition party members and six journalists were arrested in ethiopia for alleged involvement with various proscribed terrorist groups. This law was amended by proclamation 821994 proclamation no. The constitution of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia proclamation no. Pdf the purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the oau convention in preventing and combating terrorism africa. The report examines how the law, enacted in 2009, is a tool of repression, designed and used by the ethiopian government to silence its critics. The government collects this tax from any individual employees, other than. Ethiopia s highly controversial anti terrorism law, proclamation no. In the wake of the 11 september 2001 attacks in the united states u. End use of counterterrorism law to persecute dissenters. Customs under the current ethiopian legal system, there are several laws pertaining to customs regulation in ethiopia. Analysis of ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation march 9, 2009 summary this paper analyses ethiopia s draft anti terrorism proclamation the draft proclamation and assesses to what extent the proposed law on its face conforms to international human rights standards.
Ever since its promulgation in august 2009, ethiopia s anti terrorism proclamation has been a subject of criticisms from western activists. Ethiopia approves new antiterrorism law consisting of. Some points on the ethiopian anti terrorism law from human rights perspective. A tool to stifle dissent, authored by lawyers from leading international law firms, provides an indepth and damning analysis of ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation.
Of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia 20th year no. Representatives passed the mass media and freedom of information proclamation press law. While legitimate antiterrorism laws have been enacted in a number of countries, these critics of ethiopias. Ethiopian legal information portal find laws, cases. On wednesday 17 july 20, members of the european parliaments subcommittee on human rights visited ethiopia and urged the government to release journalists and opposition activists imprisoned under the countrys anti terrorism proclamation no. How much do you know about misuse of ethiopias anti.
The situation of human rights defenders in ethiopia ishr. Mahlet fasil addis abeba, march 62017 as fresh terrorism charges against several individuals surge following the yearlong public protests that led to the current state of emergency, prosecutors in ethiopia have today charged a group of 76 individuals with various articles of ethiopia s infamous anti terrorism proclamation atp. The most recent basis for punishment of journalists and media are the anti terrorism proclamation, the freedom of the mass media and access to information proclamation no. Addis abeba ethiopian lawmakers have ratified the revised the anti terrorism bill during their regular session today. New antiterrorism proclamation jeopardizes freedom.
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