Addis Ababa’s City Sovereignty threatened by the new Draft Criminal Procedure and Evidence Law of Ethiopia
Posted: 14 July, 2021 Filed under: Marew Abebe | Tags: Addis Ababa, criminal procedure, Draft Criminal Procedure, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Federal Constitution, Evidence Law, Federal Architecture, Federal Constitution, federalism, Government Sovereignty, mono-ethnic group, Oromia, Oromia Regional State, Political Ecology, Sovereignty Leave a comment
Author: Marew Abebe
Lecturer of Federalism at Debark University, Debark, Ethiopia
This is a commentary on Article 25(3) of the Draft Criminal Procedure and Evidence Law (the Draft Law), which the Attorney General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia distributed to stakeholders to solicit feedback. Article 25(3) of the Draft Law empowers courts of the state of Oromia (one of the ten regional states of Ethiopia) to exercise jurisdiction over some criminal matters that arise in one of the two self-administered city governments of Ethiopia, the capital city of the country Addis Ababa. This commentary explores whether Article 25(3) of the Draft Law is (in)compatible with the Ethiopian Federal Constitution, and concludes that granting jurisdiction to the courts of the state of Oromia over some cases arising in Addis Ababa is unconstitutional. The provision, if not omitted from the final version of the Draft Law, will pose great challenges to the Ethiopian federation.
The impact of state surveillance and censorship of sexuality on the lives of LGB Ethiopians living in Addis Ababa
Posted: 28 January, 2019 Filed under: Selamawit Tsegaye Lulseged | Tags: Addis Ababa, African Charter, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, censorship, constitution, constitutional ban, Criminal Code, discrimination, eroticism, Ethiopia, FDRE, hegemony, hetero-normative, human rights, ICCPR, ICESCR, imprisonment, International Bill of Rights, LGB, Penal Code, same-sex, same-sex sexual act, sexual minority rights, sexuality Leave a comment
Author: Selamawit Tsegaye Lulseged
African Union Human Rights Observers Mission in Burundi (formerly)
Dialogue regarding same-sex sexual act and eroticism is a recent phenomenon in Ethiopia. As is true for most African countries, in Ethiopia, there is a strong heterosexual culture that bases its legitimacy on the hegemony of masculinity. The social construction is based on the values of family that depends on traditional gender role and religious dogmas. In many discourses, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals are mentioned in relation to pedophilia, mental sickness and people who chose deviant sexual behavior. Thus, same-sex sexuality is not only something that is pushed under the rug, but also subjected to state scrutiny and embargo.
The African Union summit on the International Criminal Court: In whose interest?
Posted: 28 October, 2013 Filed under: Wonderr Freeman | Tags: Addis Ababa, Africa, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Union, crimes against humanity, Deputy President William Ruto, ICC, international court of law, International Criminal Court, international law, justice, Kenya, post-election violence, President Omar Al-Bashir, President Uhuru Kenyatta, Rome Statute, Rwanda, United Nations Security Council, victims of atrocities, Waki Commission 1 Comment
Author: Wonderr Freeman
LLM (Trade and Investment Law in Africa) candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa
(Date of article: 4 October 2013)
On 13 October 2013, leaders of African states will meet in Addis Ababa, under the African Union (AU) banner), to consider a possible withdrawal from the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court (ICC). African leaders do not find favour with the ICC’s pursuit of Kenya’s “big men”- President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. The AU draws links between the indictment of Kenyatta and Ruto with that of President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan and Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast. Having drawn such links, the AU is of the view that the ICC is a western plot to finish-off African leaders. What is striking of the AU’s ICC analysis is the complete lack of consideration for the victims, 99.9% of whom are Africans. It seems as though grave crimes against humanity are of much less importance when a few “big men” stand accused. What seems to be of extreme importance in the minds of African leaders is that, once again, one of their kind is wanted for crimes against humanity.
African heads of states are rarely united on any issue relevant to development of the continent, such as a common currency, the free movement of people and products, military interventions in war torn regions, etc. However, when it comes to protecting the likes of Bashir and Kenyatta, the AU is zealously united – without regard to the victims of atrocities.
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