After being rocked by mass protests for the past two-and-a-half years, the release of political prisoners and resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in a bid to carry out reforms sparked hope for progressive change inEthiopia. However, the wave of arrests of prominent journalists and opposition members under a new six-month state of emergency has raised fresh concerns about the commitment to fundamental rights by this UN HRC Member State.

During a side-event, DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) and its partners launched a new report that examined the current restrictions on civic space in Ethiopia, their historical background, and their impact on the current crises. Prominent human rights defenders (HRDs) voiced their appreciation for the government’s efforts to realise economic, social, and cultural rights but also stressed the importance of an international, impartial, and independent investigation into alleged human rights violations by Ethiopian security forces since October 2015.

International attention to Ethiopia’s human rights situation is mounting. The narrative of Ethiopia's stability seems to be losing ground, as member and observer states of the UN HRC start voicing concerns about Ethiopia’s crisis, building on the "prevention mandate" of the Council. DefendDefenders will continue advocating for a stronger, collective response to Ethiopia’s human rights record, beyond states’ individual statements of concern.

In its secondreportpresented to the UN HRC, the Council-mandated Commission on Human Rights inSouth Sudanlevelled severe accusations of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed since the civil war reignited in July 2016. In a second side-event, the members of the Commission, together with HRDs and human rights experts, stressed the importance of ending the climate of impunity that prevails in the country as a way of putting an end to the ongoing violations. DefendDefenders welcomed the decision of the UN HRC to extend and strengthen the mandate of the Commission, as well as the pledge of the South Sudanese delegation to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to operationalize the Hybrid Court. However, it is essential that the Government of South Sudan now acts without delay.

 

The human rights situation inBurundiremains extremely precarious, as was reflected in the Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi. DefendDefenders has supported Burundian HRDs to attend every session of the UN HRC since the current political crises broke out, in 2015, and will continue to raise their voices until meaningful steps toward de-escalation of the crisis and accountability for violations and abuses have been taken. Similarly, theEritreangovernment remains unwilling to engage with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), despite the damning findings of the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea, as was manifested by the decision of its delegation to boycott the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea.

 

While these crises require immediate attention by the UN HRC, the East and Horn of Africa has also witnessed worrying, long-term trends of shrinking space for HRDs and civil society. As documented in our bi-annualupdatesto the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and ourreport"Don’t Shoot the Messenger,” civic space inTanzaniais increasingly restricted, a concern DefendDefenders highlighted in Item 3 and 4 statements.

 

DefendDefenders and the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network also marked another, more positive, milestone with the establishment of a permanent office in Geneva. During a celebratory reception, the office was officially opened by H.E. Fatuma Abdullahi Mohamud, the Somali Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. Nicolas Agostini, DefendDefenders’ Representative to the UN, will facilitate the organisation’s engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms on issues relevant to HRDs.