The Reporter (Addis Ababa)
15 December 2007
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) this week called upon the government, citizens, national and international organizations to strengthen their resolve to ensure the practical implementation of human rights in Ethiopia.
In connection with the International Human Rights Day, in its press release, EHRCO said that it is necessary that human rights are respected and protected in a meaningful manner for the successful realization of the vision of bringing about the Ethiopian renaissance in the new millennium.
EHRCO said that there are still problems in ensuring the practical implementation of the constitutionally recognized rights and freedoms of citizens. "Extra judicial killings, torture, beatings, illegal arrest and detention are still being committed with impunity. Freedom of association, freedom of expression, freedom of the press as well as political rights and freedoms still face enormous challenges," it said.
The rights group indicated that human rights violations occur during conflicts that flare up in different parts of the country. It is hard to say that the government is doing enough in discharging its responsibility of bringing perpetrators of human rights violations to justice.
The FDRE Constitution recognizes a wide range of fundamental human and 'democratic' rights. Moreover, the Constitution explicitly declares that all international treaties ratified by Ethiopia are an integral part of the law of the land. Therefore, international human rights conventions ratified by Ethiopia are parts of Ethiopian law. It follows, therefore, that human rights are given a constitutional guarantee in the country, according to EHRCO.
EHRCO said it has been investigating and reporting human rights violations in the country with a view to helping victims get remedies for rights violations and urging all concerned bodies to bring perpetrators of the violations to justice. Besides, it has also been actively engaged in human rights education, action-oriented research, and rendering legal aid services for victims of rights violation.
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December to honor and commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly on this date in 1948. This year on Human Rights Day, the United Nations launches a year-long campaign in the lead up to the 60th anniversary of the UDHR under the theme 'Dignity and Justice for all of us'.
EHRCO said it was established 16 years ago with the aim of striving for the practical implementation in Ethiopia of the rights and freedoms of individuals and groups enshrined in the UDHR. "Since its establishment, EHRCO has been working relentlessly to make a significant contribution to the efforts of ensuring respect and protection of human rights, the prevalence of the rule of law and the establishment of a democratic system in Ethiopia," it added.
Meanwhile, the freedoms upheld in the historic United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be enjoyed by everyone, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on the occasion of Human Rights Day.
The Day also kicked off a year-long UN system-wide campaign, with the theme "Dignity and Justice for All of Us," to raise awareness of the Declaration, which turns 60 on 10 December 2008.
"The Declaration remains as relevant today as it did on the day it was adopted," Mr. Ban said. "But the fundamental freedoms enshrined in it are still not a reality for everyone. Too often, governments lack the political will to implement international norms they have willingly accepted."
He said that this year leading up to the 60th anniversary of the landmark document provides an opportunity to reinvigorate efforts to ensure that the Declaration's freedoms apply to all.
"It is a chance to ensure that these rights are a living reality - that they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere," the Secretary-General noted. "It is often those who most need their human rights protected, who also need to be informed that the Declaration exists - and that it exists for them."
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in a separate message, paid tribute to those who have given their lives in the pursuit of transforming the ideals of the Declaration inherent human dignity, justice, non-discrimination, equality, fairness and universality into reality.
Arbour said that a year-long campaign was launched this week to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which falls on December 10, 2008. This campaign will engage the whole UN system in promoting the Declaration's ideals and principles of justice and equality for all of us which changed the landscape of international relations and gave substance to the aspirations to freedom and dignity of humankind. But the celebrations are meant not only as tributes to an extraordinary human achievement. They will also be reminders that the goal of making the Declaration a living reality for everyone has yet to be realized.
"There is no doubt that we have come a long way on a road that the UDHR framers have prefigured. Today, a complex web of international instruments has fleshed out the content of the baskets of rights that the Declaration spelled out, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. All States have ratified at least one of the core nine international human rights treaties, and 80 percent have ratified four or more. The process of adopting the Declaration's norms, translating them into law and putting them into effect is still ongoing at the international and national levels with regional entities increasingly involved as well.
Yet despite recognition in law and in stated commitments, glaring gaps in implementation of human rights standards are found in every country in the world. Abuse, discrimination and inequality are still pervasive. They may even be growing as a result of new forms of oppression, violence and economic and social inequalities, she said.
"Nothing exemplifies unmet expectations better than the failure to grant justice to the victims of discrimination and human rights violations. Many judicial systems lack professionalism or have a long history of intimidation and subservience which prevents accountability for perpetrators' actions and denies their victims proper recourse." Impunity, and the absence of a true connective tissue between state institutions and the citizenry not only frustrates the demand for justice, but also encourages the perpetuation of patterns of exclusion and abuse, she noted.
According to her, such profound, widespread and recurrent challenges have prompted some to question the vitality, relevance, and applicability of the Declaration's principles. However it is not the soundness of the Declarations' vision, but the commitment of governments to implementing its norms and their management of competing aspirations and scarce resources that should come under scrutiny. Clearly, legitimate, independent, and effective institutions of governance are necessary to meet the human rights requirements of justice, effective participation and genuine accountability. Viable institutions also ensure that that social justice, including equal access to food, education, health, proper housing, and other basic needs, is delivered in an effort to free people from conditions of chronic poverty and discrimination.
"Realizing the goals of justice and equality for all must be our pre-eminent task if we truly are to honor the spirit and the letter of the Declaration. Beyond good intent, this endeavor must be understood and carried out as a genuine responsibility to empower rights holders. It must be pursued with the urgency and sense of priority that it deserves as our shared obligation to promote and protect human rights under the law," Arbour said.
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