Browsing by Author "Sisay Mengistie"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Legal and Practical Responses to the Rights of Ethno-National Minorities in Federal Ethiopia: Case Study of Amhara and Oromia National Regional States
    (Addis Ababa University, 2018-03) Sisay Mengistie; Assefa Fiseha
    Beginning from the agreement of Westfalia to the Second World War,there was an international attempt to address the claims of minorities. Unfortunately, the end of the Second World War, which had heralded a new era for individual human rights, did not sustain the continuation of addressing minorities’ problems. On top of that the postWorld War I political order of the international community,the recognition and protection of minority rights remained only in asserting the right to equality and prohibition of discrimination. As a result, the present international human rights instruments are not as such inclusive of minority rights. Ethiopia, as an independent state and part of the world community, its successive regimes were not ready to recognize and protect the rights of ethno national minority groups until 1991. However, following the adoption of federal constitutional framework of the country that recognizes and legally guarantees the rights and freedoms of all ethno national groups of the country, almost all regional states of federal Ethiopia have adopted their own regional state constitutions by recognizing the existence and protection of the rights of minorities settled in their respective administrative territories. Ethiopian federal constitution formed regional states mainly along ethno-linguistic basis. The idea is to allow each ethno national group to exercise the right to self-government. However, not all ethno national groups have their own separate regional states. Hence regional states are supposed to provide constitutional space to create institutional arrangements for managing intra-regional ethnic diversity. But, the regional state constitutions and practical implementations of their respective governments in this regard do not comply with the basic principles of FDRE constitution and properly address the rights of existence, equitable representation and self-government of ethno national minorities settled in their region. Considering this reality, the writer of this dissertation frames a research question as follows: how do the legal frameworks of both federal and regional state governments address the rights of ethno national minorities and how have the national regional states under consideration implemented them?To answer the main research question of this dissertation a qualitative approach of data analysis was employed in consolidating and analyzing this dissertation. As a result, various laws (international, continental, national and regional) and other related documents are utilized as important data sources in addition to the semi-structured interview. Based on their political and social knowledge of the issue at hand,the respondents of the interview,were selected by the researcherusing purposive sampling method. Therefore, the study generally attempted to address three interrelated issues on the rights of ethno national minorities such as the right to existence, equitable representation and self-government. It not only investigates the constitutional basis of the aforementioned fundamental rights and freedoms of ethno national minorities but also the perception of the regional state government officials and ethno national minorities covered in the study. The findings from the two case study national regional states of federal Ethiopia revealed that the current political system of Ethiopia -both in terms of its federal design and the operating politico-legal practices have largely failed to respond to the strong demands of ethno national minorities. The federal design of granting autonomy to ethno national groups of the country has fallen short of giving territorial autonomy to all nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia- even to those regarded as indigenous ethnic groups to their respective regional states. Apart from the granting of territorial autonomy, it has also, to a certain extent by design, excluded non-indigenous ethnic groups from effective and equitable representation in the respective regional state legislative councils. Even in circumstances where they have been given restricted representation rights, their decision making powers remain ineffective. Hence this dissertation argues that despite the promises made by the federal government to empower all ethno national groups they continue to face consequences of lack of equitable representation and the right to self-government even in the territory they are considered indigenous. The Ethiopian federal system in this regard has not kept its promise. Because as clearly witnessed in the national regional state of Oromia, only the Oromo nation is political recognized and legally allowed to control territorial autonomy of the region. As a result, even the indigenous people of Zay in Oromia region and Kemant community of Amhara region are not politically recognized and represented in the regional councils of the same national regional states respectively. Although it has certain accommodative legal and political system, the Amhara region too restricts the rights of self-government of ethno national minorities. In circumstances where the historic ethno national minorities have participation at regional council, the majoritarian decision-making process of the region makes them unable to counter any determination even sometimes that goes against their interest. The Kemant case is a living experience in this regard. Therefore, unless the various demands of such ethno national minorities living in those regional states are properly addressed through political and legal mechanisms that accommodate the interest of ethno national minorities, the existing discontent may distablize the federal system.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Need to Revise Sub National Constitutions of Ethiopia: The Case of Amhara National Regional State
    (Addis Ababa,University, 2020-06) Shegaw Mulu; Sisay Mengistie
    The very purpose of this study is to explore the need to revise sub-national constitutions of Ethiopia in general and ANRS constitution in particular. The study basically assesses and analyzes the need to revise ANRS Constitution and identify the possible measures that have to be taken. The study mainly applies qualitative research method aiming to investigate important attitudes and experiences of informants. In doing so both primary and secondary data have employed as a process in order to get valuable analysis and finding.Primary sources are respondents who were participated during drafting and ratification of constitutions and other intervieweesas well as relevant state laws including the regional state revised constitution. Whereas Secondary sources are books, articles, journals, reports, published & unpublished documents and the like.The study mainly investigated the regional state legala administrative systeme with regard to constitutional revision and related activitiestoidentify the following major findings. In the making processes of ANRSC there was no public participation and consensus creation among different interest groups and politicians. There was no a formal and institutional awareness creation during designation and practicing of ANRS Constitution. The provisions of ANRSC are not part and parcel of the responsible curriculums. Lawyers and researchers were not active participant in developing and practicing the Constitution of ANRS. The people of Amhara didn‟t perceive as that the Constitution of Amhara is not their own rather it is a party document. Finally, the people of ANRS have a great demand for the total/complete revision of FDRE Constitution since it did not address the fundamental interest of them. Moreover, the peoples of Amhara region demand to revise the regional state constitution to make it complete and legitimate.Although the regional state council established the Council of Constitutional Inquiry, it is not active enough to develop and review the Constitution of the region.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Protection of Minority Rights in Harari Region: Case Study of Local Governments
    (Addis Ababa University, 2017-04) Yitbarek Tesfaye; Sisay Mengistie
    Ethiopia is one of the ancient countries in the world which was a decentralized state until it changed to a process of centralization that took place in a period extending over a century. Present day Ethiopia was created by highlander rulers through twin processes of political and economic conquest in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Emperor Menelik II (1889-1913) embarked on a campaign of expanding his rule from the central highland regions to the South, West and East of the country. After the demise of the power of Emperor Menlik II and his eventual death, in 1913 the centralization drive continued by Ras Tafari Mekonnen leter he became crowned Emperor Haile Selassie in November 1930. He continued by his highly centralized system of governance without considering the existing diversity of ethno national communities and in the name of the nation-building. The system recognized only Orthodox Christianity as a state religion, Amharic as an official /national language, and other political opportunities without considering diverse societies of the country. because of his centralized rule and lack of proper and adequate reform different struggles raised in different ways, This popular movement caused the break down of Haile Selassie‘s regime in 1974. At that time because of lack of organized political groups to lead the country a military officers called Derg controle to the power in September 1974. The Derg era was characterized by massive human rights violations and internal conflicts. So after a bitter 17 years struggle he defited in 1991 by the Ethiopian Peoples‘ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Girmachew Alemu (2010,pp.4-5). The new rulers announced a radically different nation and state building policy. Under the guidance of the EPRF they declared their interest that to break the past injustices and to develop a new Ethiopian society based on freedom, equal rights and most notably self-determination for all Ethiopian peoples. The right to self-determination is the foundation of the new constitutional strategy of state building. In the FDRE Constitution ethnic groups which are territorially defined have become the bearers of sovereign power and entitled to the right to self-determination by constructing nine constitute units arranged based on territorial and hitter titular ethnic majority groups. So harari is one of the nine regional states which is an inhabitant of different ethnic communities. Hrari is the sovereign power and become the majority ethnic of the region. But non indigenous minorities are discriminated in political participation. The only Harari and Oromo people are the participants in the political game (Harari constitution 2004).
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Protection of Minority Rights in Harari Region: Case Study of Local Governments
    (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2017-04) Yitbarek Tesfaye; Sisay Mengistie
    Ethiopia is one of the ancient countries in the world which was a decentralized state until it changed to a process of centralization that took place in a period extending over a century. Present day Ethiopia was created by highlander rulers through twin processes of political and economic conquest in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Emperor Menelik II (1889-1913) embarked on a campaign of expanding his rule from the central highland regions to the South, West and East of the country. After the demise of the power of Emperor Menlik II and his eventual death, in 1913 the centralization drive continued by Ras Tafari Mekonnen leter he became crowned Emperor Haile Selassie in November 1930. He continued by his highly centralized system of governance without considering the existing diversity of ethno national communities and in the name of the nation-building. The system recognized only Orthodox Christianity as a state religion, Amharic as an official /national language, and other political opportunities without considering diverse societies of the country. because of his centralized rule and lack of proper and adequate reform different struggles raised in different ways, This popular movement caused the break down of Haile Selassie‘s regime in 1974. At that time because of lack of organized political groups to lead the country a military officers called Derg controle to the power in September 1974. The Derg era was characterized by massive human rights violations and internal conflicts. So after a bitter 17 years struggle he defited in 1991 by the Ethiopian Peoples‘ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Girmachew Alemu (2010,pp.4-5). The new rulers announced a radically different nation and state building policy. Under the guidance of the EPRF they declared their interest that to break the past injustices and to develop a new Ethiopian society based on freedom, equal rights and most notably self-determination for all Ethiopian peoples. The right to self-determination is the foundation of the new constitutional strategy of state building. In the FDRE Constitution ethnic groups which are territorially defined have become the bearers of sovereign power and entitled to the right to self-determination by constructing nine constitute units arranged based on territorial and hitter titular ethnic majority groups. So harari is one of the nine regional states which is an inhabitant of different ethnic communities. Hrari is the sovereign power and become the majority ethnic of the region. But non indigenous minorities are discriminated in political participation. The only Harari and Oromo people are the participants in the political game (Harari constitution 2004).
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Need to Revise Sub National Constitutions of Ethiopia: The Case of Amhara National Regional State
    (Addis Ababa University,, 2020-06) Shegaw Mulu; Sisay Mengistie
    The very purpose of this study is to explore the need to revise sub-national constitutions of Ethiopia in general and ANRS constitution in particular. The study basically assesses and analyzes the need to revise ANRS Constitution and identify the possible measures that have to be taken. The study mainly applies qualitative research method aiming to investigate important attitudes and experiences of informants. In doing so both primary and secondary data have employed as a process in order to get valuable analysis and finding.Primary sources are respondents who were participated during drafting and ratification of constitutions and other intervieweesas well as relevant state laws including the regional state revised constitution. Whereas Secondary sources are books, articles, journals, reports, published & unpublished documents and the like.The study mainly investigated the regional state legala administrative systeme with regard to constitutional revision and related activitiestoidentify the following major findings. In the making processes of ANRSC there was no public participation and consensus creation among different interest groups and politicians. There was no a formal and institutional awareness creation during designation and practicing of ANRS Constitution. The provisions of ANRSC are not part and parcel of the responsible curriculums. Lawyers and researchers were not active participant in developing and practicing the Constitution of ANRS. The people of Amhara didn‟t perceive as that the Constitution of Amhara is not their own rather it is a party document. Finally, the people of ANRS have a great demand for the total/complete revision of FDRE Constitution since it did not address the fundamental interest of them. Moreover, the peoples of Amhara region demand to revise the regional state constitution to make it complete and legitimate.Although the regional state council established the Council of Constitutional Inquiry, it is not active enough to develop and review the Constitution of the region.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Right to Self-Determination of the Agew People in Tigray Regional State: A Quest For Securing Territorial/Non Territorial Autonomy
    (Addis Ababa University, 2024-05) Nekatibeb Gebremichael; Sisay Mengistie
    According to scholars in the contemporary international human rights laws, the right to self-determination is defined as a compound of rights comprising freedom, equality, cultural and democratic rights to make people exist and develop among and between themselves with their respective distinct characteristics respected; and its conception is shifted away from colonial self-determination towards internal self-determination giving due attention for strong protection of political, cultural and language autonomy on a territorial or non-territorial basis. In this regard, the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995), recognizes the right to self-determination and grants every Nation, Nationality and Peoples of the republic the right to self determination up to secession including the right to establish institutions of government in the territory it inhabits and the right to equitable representation at regional and federal governments. Following this the constitution of the Tigray Region provides that the indigenous inhabitants of the region are the Tigray, the Kunama and the Irob ethnic groups but it is silent about the existence of Agew people who are historical inhabitants of the region let alone to allow the right to self-determination. In contrast the Agew people living in the Amhara Region, have territorially defined and established their own self-governing institution. Therefore, this research is intended to examine the legal and practical responses of the TNRs towards the right to self-determination of the Agew people in the regional state. The study has implemented qualitative method of research using descriptive analysis; and for this reason the most notable primary data was obtained from related laws and the most informed members of the study area. The finding of the study shows that for the last 33 years the Agew people in the TNRs could not exercise their constitutional right to self-determination. Hence the writer argues that, the Agew people in the TNRs are historical inhabitants to the region and therefore the regional state has to take measures to recognize their indigenousness; and they have to be enabled to exercise their right to self-determination and combined rights in a territorial or non-territorial framework of autonomy.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Treatments of the Rights of National Minorities and Caste. Social Groups in Amhara National Regional State: Law and Practice
    (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2010) Sisay Mengistie; Yared Legese
    The prime motive of the writer to do a research on the rights of national minorities is the . divergence of the Amhara National Regional State Constitution against the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution on some rights of national minorities. Moreover, the researcher wants to see the status of the Amhara Region government activities against the guaranteed constitutional rights. of national minorities. Besides, the researcher, being watchfiil of the prevalent problems in the area, is enticed to make a comparative survey of the constitution of the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS) in relation to the rights of national minorities with that of the three neighbouring national regional state constitutions (Benshangul-Gumuz, Oromia and Tigray). The research tries to address three fill1damental issues on the rights of national minorities. In the first place, the constitutional guarantees in the FDRE, ANRS and the three national regional states neighbouring to the Amhara National Regional State are assessed in the study. Secondarily, the perception of the national minorities covered in the study and the three organs of the government (legislative, executive, and the judiciary) with regards to the respective constitution of the region and the application of the constitution on the rights of national minorities are scrutinized among others. And finally, the basic distinctions in crafting their constitutions to issues referring national minority rights and in implementing same among the regions covered in the study. In addition to this the research gives some space to assess the histolY, legal and social status ofNegede-Woyto and the Awura-Amba community in relation to the rights of equal treatment, non-discrimination, accommodation and participation in societal as well as political activities. A qualitative approach of data analysis is made use of in the research. Various laws (international, national and regional) and other related documents are utilized as data source in addition to the interview and focus group discussion, the respondents being selected on pwposive basis. The researcher also uses his personal observation as additional source of information. The major findings the research comprises are; identifYing the contradiction between Art.39 (1) of FDRE Constitution and the common Art. 39(4) of national regional states and thus restricts the rights of national minorities in exercising self-rule, representing at regional executive and the judiciwy as well as in issuing regulations and formulating policies which could help them to strengthen their socio-economic and political activities. Furthermore, the three neighbouring national regional states covered in the study denay the rights of those national minorities living in their respective regions and realizing the ignorance of the governments of regional states pertaining to the rights of national minorities and caste social groups . . Finally, the implication on the issue illustrates that the effort to build one economic and political society could be hindered if those problems mentioned above are not corrected in the near future. And this in turn calls for a revision of const itutions and a close monitoring on the practices of the rights of national minorities not only in those regional states covered in the study but also in the other national regional states of Elhiopia.