Ethiopia's new civil society law (original) (raw)

A few weeks ago, the Ethiopian Parliament adopted a new law governing civil society organisations. It is hard to overstate what an important and remarkable step this is for the civil society sector, their beneficiaries and funders. It is an important step because, up until now, Ethiopian law has radically constrained and frustrated the work and political spaces of CSOs. It is a remarkable step because the adoption of a new CSO law was unforeseeable less than a year ago. With the adoption of this law, Ethiopia is bucking a global trend towards greater regulatory restriction of the civil society sector. This new law will significantly impact the realisation of human rights and sustainable development in the country.