Addis Ababa, May 4, 2021 (FBC) – In a statement issued on Tuesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that several measures have been taken to bring a wide range of reforms in the legal sector. Legal reforms undertaken in the past three months have been linchpin of Ethiopia’s vision for prosperity over the past three years. Accordingly:
Enhancing the independence of democratic and judicial institutions such as the Ethiopian National Electoral Board, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Federal Supreme Court through the adoption and implementation of critical institutional reform packages;
Legislative reforms enhancing the protection and enjoyment of fundamental civil and political rights such as; freedom of association (Civil Society Organizations Proclamation No.1113/2019″), freedom of expression (The Mass Media Proclamation No. 1234/2021) and freedom of political participation (The Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties Registration and Election Code of Conduct Proclamation No. 1162/2019).
Enhancing transparency and accountability within the executive branch of government OES through the adoption of the Federal Administrative Procedure Proclamation No. 1183/2020;
Laying the foundation for comprehensive criminal justice system overhaul through the adoption of a new Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code:
Facilitating ease of doing business through the adoption of a new Commercial Code and an Arbitration and Conciliation Working Procedure Proclamation;
Upholding the rule of law through the investigation and prosecution of those suspected of committing crimes related to grand corruption, gross human rights violations and identity related communal clashes (around 12,000 suspects have been identified and prosecuted for involvement in identity-based attacks and conflicts):
Significant Improvement in the human rights situation in federal penitentiaries through administrative, institutional and legislative reforms including the adoption of the Federal Prison Proclamation 1174/2019;
The release of around 45,000 detainees nationwide through amnesty and pardon:
Fulfilling Ethiopia’s international obligation to submit periodic reports to the UN Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture and to the African Charter of Commission on Human and Peoples Rights are among the core activities in the reform move, the Office stated.