Ethiopia: A National Dialogue in the Shadow of War
Posted: 3 September, 2026 Filed under: Derara Roba | Tags: armed conflicts, civilian abductions, constitutional estrangement, ENDC, Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, frustration, human rights violations, Human Rights Watch, Oromo Liberation Army, political willingness, Tigray People's Liberation Front, Tigray war Leave a comment
Author: Derara Roba
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
1 Introduction
After a long wait, the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) launched a national conference in Addis Ababa on 15 July 2026. Aimed at moving towards consensus after years of war, human rights violations and constitutional estrangement, it was framed as a historic move.[1] Yet, the conference is unfolding while the sound of the guns has not been silenced. The paradox of “national” dialogue, which is supposed to be nationally engaging, convened amidst the war and the urge to start war, is what this piece problematises. It attempts to question whether the dialogue is an instrumental means of establishing legitimacy rather than a genuine forum for representation. In this piece, it is underlined that the continuation of the national dialogue, while the guns are not falling silent and there are indications of Ethiopia moving into large-scale war, should not be considered a mere backdrop to the dialogue; rather, it implies a framing of who should be represented.
From commitments to concrete action: Ending femicide in South Africa
Posted: 20 July, 2026 Filed under: Derara Roba, Keziah Mwashigadi, Noah Yesuf, Rumbidzai Musonza | Tags: accountability, femicide, gender-based violence, human dignity, intimate partner violence, live free from violence, National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Act 9 of 2024, national disaster, National Strategy on the Prevention of Femicide, South Africa, woman's rights, women’s dignity Leave a commentThe Authors are enrolled in the LL.M in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.
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Noah Yesuf |
Rumbidzai Musonza |
Derara Roba |
Keziah Mwashigadi |
Femicide in South Africa: The staggering realities
Femicide represents the most extreme manifestation of gender-based violence against women and girls. The numbers are frightening as reports have repeatedly shown that South Africa has one of the highest femicide rates in the world. Recent records indicate that the rate of intimate partner violence in South Africa is five times higher than the global average, and approximately 15 women are killed every day.
Yet, the response remains sluggish, unable to effectively tackle the pervasive ongoing femicide crisis that poses a daily threat to women’s lives and deprive their constitutional right to live free from violence with dignity, equality, and freedom.
AfricLaw 