Assessing the Effectivness of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in Light of the 1991 Paris Principles
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
National Human Rights Commissions are institutions established by nations across the world to protect and promote human rights. As such, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is established for similar purpose. Hence, this thesis aims at assessing the effectiveness of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
It seeks to discover whether the Commission has met up with the protection and promotion of human rights as the sole purpose for which it was created. To achieve this, the thesis examines the activities of the Commission since it started operation. It generally assesses the Commission’s effectiveness in light of some key elements of the Paris Principles particularly its mandate and powers; accessibility; independence; operational efficiency; accountability and its cooperation with international organizations, other human rights institutions and the civil society.
By using qualitative methodology, this thesis analyzed both primary and secondary sources of
data collection. The primary sources include analysis of the Proclamation which established the
Commission, Reports of the Commission, the 1991 Paris principles, interview with the
Commissioner, representatives and leaders of EPRDF and opposition political parties,
journalists, activists, and representatives of some selected civil society organizations.
To reflect the views of those sections of the society who are vulnerable to human rights violation the empirical data presented in this research paper has been supplemented by an interview with some human rights violation victims who have filed a complaint to the Commission. In addition, to validate the argument of those selected opinion makers a Focus Group Discussion has also been carried out with some selected sections of the society who are believed to represent andrelate to the public.
This thesis finally has found that all the assessed elements of the Paris Principles are inadequate and insufficient for the Commission to perform to the expected level. As a result of these findings, the thesis recommends some legislative amendments in order to strengthen the legal framework of the Commission. It also recommends some far reaching measures to both the government and the Commission so as to enhance the Commission’s performance and enable it to meet international standards of protecting and promoting human rights
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International Relation