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Amnesty International on Monday issued a statement condemning the proposed changes to the Civil Society Organization (CSO) law in Ethiopia, urging that the draft amendment should not enter into force.
Amnesty International states that the approval of the draft amendments would “move the country towards a total closure of civic space.” The Organizations of Civil Societies Proclamation (2019) (CSO Proclamation) governs national and international CSOs that conduct activities in Ethiopia.
The proposed changes include the restructuring of the Civil Society Organization Board, which sets policy guidance for the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO). The ACSO is answerable to the Ministry of Justice administering the CSO regime. The amendment rearranges the proportion of seats by granting the government more seats than the members of CSOs. Amnesty International emphasizes that this signifies a setback for human rights protection in Ethiopia because it “will render checks and balances nearly impossible within the current governance structure, resulting in a structural lack of independence and oversight, and effectively closing the door to accountability of ACSO.”
The draft amendment also disallows donors, including organizations and individuals, from funding national CSOs that pursue “political advocacy”. Amnesty International states that this “leaves room for abuse of discretion” because “political advocacy” is a vague term, allowing Ethiopian authorities to take arbitrary measures against non-profit organizations.
Moreover, where a CSO is “believed to be a threat to national security”, the ACSO can reject the application for registration. Amnesty International argues that authorities solely have to rely on suspicion rather than having proof, which gives rise to arbitrary decisions, “potentially silencing peaceful dissent or critical CSOs under the pretext of national security concerns.”
Furthermore, Amnesty International argues that Ethiopian authorities would have more oversight regarding the financing of CSOs because they would have to seek permission to set up a bank account, and loans would need to be approved by the ACSO.
Following four years of public protests demanding an end to serious human rights violations and justice, the former leadership stepped down in 2018. The current administration continuously assured that the human rights violations would end, and democracy would be upheld. The United Nations has highlighted that CSOs perform various functions such as alerting governments of citizens’ concerns, overseeing policies and international agreements, encouraging political involvement within communities, and bringing global attention to critical issues. The CSO Proclamation was introduced in 2019 and replaced the repressive 2009 Proclamation, relieving the previous constraints on CSOs. However, a growing crackdown against civil society has manifested. In January 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized Ethiopian authorities for closing various human rights organizations.
Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at HRW, stated that “rolling [the 2019 reforms] back demonstrates that the Ethiopian government has returned to a repressive past that many hoped it had left behind.” Amnesty International emphasizes that the approval of the proposed changes would have the chilling effect of deterring CSOs from engaging in their regular activities in fear of facing persecution by the Ethiopian authorities.
The post Ethiopia urged to abandon proposed changes to civil society organization law appeared first on JURIST - News.
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Amnesty International states that the approval of the draft amendments would “move the country towards a total closure of civic space.” The Organizations of Civil Societies Proclamation (2019) (CSO Proclamation) governs national and international CSOs that conduct activities in Ethiopia.
The proposed changes include the restructuring of the Civil Society Organization Board, which sets policy guidance for the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO). The ACSO is answerable to the Ministry of Justice administering the CSO regime. The amendment rearranges the proportion of seats by granting the government more seats than the members of CSOs. Amnesty International emphasizes that this signifies a setback for human rights protection in Ethiopia because it “will render checks and balances nearly impossible within the current governance structure, resulting in a structural lack of independence and oversight, and effectively closing the door to accountability of ACSO.”
The draft amendment also disallows donors, including organizations and individuals, from funding national CSOs that pursue “political advocacy”. Amnesty International states that this “leaves room for abuse of discretion” because “political advocacy” is a vague term, allowing Ethiopian authorities to take arbitrary measures against non-profit organizations.
Moreover, where a CSO is “believed to be a threat to national security”, the ACSO can reject the application for registration. Amnesty International argues that authorities solely have to rely on suspicion rather than having proof, which gives rise to arbitrary decisions, “potentially silencing peaceful dissent or critical CSOs under the pretext of national security concerns.”
Furthermore, Amnesty International argues that Ethiopian authorities would have more oversight regarding the financing of CSOs because they would have to seek permission to set up a bank account, and loans would need to be approved by the ACSO.
Following four years of public protests demanding an end to serious human rights violations and justice, the former leadership stepped down in 2018. The current administration continuously assured that the human rights violations would end, and democracy would be upheld. The United Nations has highlighted that CSOs perform various functions such as alerting governments of citizens’ concerns, overseeing policies and international agreements, encouraging political involvement within communities, and bringing global attention to critical issues. The CSO Proclamation was introduced in 2019 and replaced the repressive 2009 Proclamation, relieving the previous constraints on CSOs. However, a growing crackdown against civil society has manifested. In January 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized Ethiopian authorities for closing various human rights organizations.
Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at HRW, stated that “rolling [the 2019 reforms] back demonstrates that the Ethiopian government has returned to a repressive past that many hoped it had left behind.” Amnesty International emphasizes that the approval of the proposed changes would have the chilling effect of deterring CSOs from engaging in their regular activities in fear of facing persecution by the Ethiopian authorities.
The post Ethiopia urged to abandon proposed changes to civil society organization law appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.