Ethnic Federalism and Internal Minorities: The Legal Protection of Internal Minorities in Ethiopia (original) (raw)
Addis Ababa University, 2020
Abstract The international practice has revealed that individuals belonging to different minorities are often not able to enjoy their human rights because of the discrimination they face. The same holds true in Ethiopia since the long centralist history triggered ethnic inequalities. Fortunately, following the system change, the FDRE Constitution was adopted and declared ethnic federalism, inter alia, to guarantee the rights of ethnic minorities. The thesis, however, argues that the existing ethnic-based territorial autonomy has again failed to accommodate internal minorities. Therefore, it first scrutinizes the inadequacy of protection given to these groups of people under the existing legal and institutional frameworks. Then, it recommends two constitutional solutions. First, the existing ethnic-based territorial autonomy federal system has to be kept intact with giving sufficient protection for the indigenous minorities. Second, non-territorial autonomy as a complementary constitutional arrangement has to be adopted to protect non-indigenous minorities.
ETHIOPIA: CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL
It is argued that in order to evaluate the capacity of the Ethiopian federal structure to accommodate ethnic diversity and to regulate ethnic conflicts, the research cannot be limited to an analysis of the constitutional mechanisms at the federal level. One of the crucial features of the Ethiopian federal structure is that it provides its nine regions with the power to enact their internal constitutions. This implies that each and every region has the power to develop its own internal state structure, within a minimum federal framework. From here it follows that the federal structure to have the potential to lay the foundations for a viable Ethiopian state, it is essential that not only the federal but also the regional constitutional mechanisms have the capacity to realize unity in diversity. As is explained in this article, not a single Ethiopian region is ethnically homogeneous. The ethnic 105 diversity which characterizes the federal level is therefore also present at the regional level. Therefore, when evaluating the capacity of the Ethiopian state structure to accomplish unity in diversity one also has to include an analysis of the regional mechanisms. The latter analysis is the core objective of this article.
Intra-Unit Minorities in the Context of Ethno-National Federation in Ethiopia
Utrecht law review, 2017
marginalized intra-state minorities. Through an analysis of the constitution, relevant laws, field work and relevant comparative literature, this article aims to shed light on the nature and source of such conflicts and offers institutional and policy options to address them. Various studies have examined the rights and status of intra-unit minorities (minorities in the states) in Ethiopia 6 yet their focus has been mainly on language and cultural rights as well as on the political opportunities that the ethno-national federation and ethnic local governments provide to the titular ethnonational groups. The studies offer little detail on the rights of dispersed intra-unit minorities, particularly power sharing which is a focus of this article. This article has four sections. The present Section 1 has provided some general background. The next section deals with the pillars of the federal system and also describes its impact on intra-unit minorities. Section 3 examines the status of these minorities and demonstrates the variations among the regional states in terms of responding to their demands. Section 4 outlines the institutional and policy options that are available to address the rights of intra-unit minorities. The last section provides the conclusion. 2. Key features of the federal system: Empowering titular ethno-national groups As previously mentioned, marginalized ethno-national groups challenged the centrist state and brought an end to it in 1991 after years of civil war. The post-1991 federal arrangement was spearheaded by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), 7 which overthrew the military junta in 1991. As the main architect of the transition (1991-1994) and of the 1995 constitution it long advocated 'nationalities' right to self-determination up to and including secession'. It claims that the key source of political crisis in Ethiopia is ethnic domination, with a ruling elite controlling power, resources and narrowly defining the values and institutions of the state (such as language-Amharic remained a national language until 1991-and religion-the Orthodox Christian belief remained the state religion until 1974) as its main cause. As a result, the key features of the federal constitution are heavily influenced by the idea of the right of 'nations, nationalities and peoples' to self-determination and the right to self-rule as a solution to the 'question of nationalities'. Former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the chief architect, is quoted to have said: 'The Nile/Abay river has no life without its tributaries, Ethiopia also makes little sense without its diversity.' 8 6 There are many MA and LLM case studies on minority rights in the states but published works are rare. Christophe Van der Beken is the only exception who has come close to the issue. See C.
Federalism and Ethnic Minorities in Ethiopia: Ideology, Territoriality, Human Rights, Policy
In 1994 Ethiopia has adopted a new constitution, considered one of the most advanced in terms of provisions for human rights. The progressive ratification of several international treaties on minority rights had already begun in 1991, immediately after the fall of the Derg regime. This progress has brought Ethiopia into the UN monitoring system, but the review of the official UN documents reveals the mismatch between the mentioned constitutional and international steps and the on-ground situation. This article considers two possible causes of this gap. The first is the particular form of ethnic federalism, first introduced with the Charter of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and later developed in the new constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE). The second is the contradiction between the constitutional theory based on the fundamental political freedoms, and the political practice of the ruling party, grounded in revolutionary democracy, a post-Marxist ideology based on the Leninist democratic centralism and on some of the principles of the developmental state. In this article the problems identified by a UN independent expert on minority issues have been reconsidered with reference to the Ethiopian pastoral minorities. Special attention is paid to the controversy on the construction of the Gibe 3 dam along the course of the Omo River. This article claims that minority and indigenous rights are compatible with ethnic federalism as defined in the FDRE constitution, but are in conflict with the praxis inspired by the working ideology of the ruling party.
The Ethnic Minority Right Protection and Its Political Representation in Ethiopia
Annals of the University of Craiova for Journalism, Communication and Management, 2019
Scholarly interest in Ethiopia's ethnic federalism and political representation of minorities has frequently been on ethno-territorial organization, constitutional design, power-sharing arrangements, but the rights of minority under majority and their decision making power are often left out from analyses. In the current politics of Ethiopia Minorities are not supported well, but they are also sometimes bothered and ignored. These unequal policies have resulted in discrimination of different rights in society. The Constitution of Ethiopia off course provided equality before the law for all citizens regardless of their religion, race, language or gender. At the same time, it declared the value of cultural diversity. However minorities did not have a chance to win in an election since the system of election in Ethiopia is a simple majority, when there is no one particular group which holds numerical dominance, simple majoritarianism can work against the rights of minorities unless...
The practice of federalism in Ethiopia, which is exclusively dependent on the idea of granting territorial autonomy to select ethnolinguistic groups, has now prevailed a little over two decades. As has been witnessed over the years, this approach to devolving autonomy risks excluding minorities in the country's subnational units from adequate representation and from having the decision-making powers required to promote their particular needs. Despite the clear advantages of granting territorial autonomy to territorially concentrated and homogenous groups found within a certain geographical unit, in countries like Ethio-pia-where subnational heterogeneity surpasses homogeneity-such an approach should not be relied on as the only method for fostering ethnolinguistic diversity. This article argues that non-territorial arrangements, like cultural autonomy and "consocia-tionalism," should be utilized in addition to other legal, institutional and cultural processes for sharing power in Ethiopian sub-national units.
Constitutional and Institutional Protection of Minorities in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa University , 2020
This article investigates minority rights protection under the Ethiopian federal state structure envisaged in its legal instruments and institutional setups. Ethiopia is a land of diverse society in terms of religion, ethnicity, culture, language, and socio-economic activities. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution gives the right to each nation, nationality and people, among other, to preserve its identity, administer its own affairs, and get fair representation. However, the Ethiopian federal system, structured based on ethnolinguistic criteria, apportion the country into ten (including Sidama) regional states, subsuming the rest within them. The interests of minorities, who are lumped with relatively dominant ethnic groups, are not addressed and have not been given self-determination, nor are they recognized as a distinct ethnic group of the country. Recognition of minority groups is not only determined by the Constitution and other legal frameworks but also based on political expediency, which can be unconstitutional. The possible solutions include adopting proportional representation system, enforcement of basic human rights of citizens and consideration of mechanisms of non-territorial autonomy.
Comment on Ethnic Minority Rights under the Ethiopian Federal Structure
2012
Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-cultural country with diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. In this sense, the country can appropriately be described as a mosaic of different cultures and ethno-linguistic groups, although this was not legally and politically recognized until recently. The 1995 Ethiopian Constitution expressly recognizes the ethnic diversity of the population. This was initiated in 1991 under the Transitional Charter of Ethiopia, 1 and it was a departure from the unitary state paradigm in nation-state building policies of former regimes. The Ethiopian government now accepts the notion of ethnic diversity and aspires to build the nation by using ethnicity as a starting point. This approach was further institutionalized in the current Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution. 2 The various units of the Federation, i.e. the regional states are carved out along ethno-linguistic lines. As a result, some writers regard Ethiopia's federation as an 'ethnic Federation'. 3 One of the consequences of the definition of the federation on the basis of ethnicity is the creation of regional states dominated by particular ethnic groups. The creation of such ethnic based regional states holds serious dangers for the position of ethnic minority groups; groups which differ from the regionally dominant ethnic majority. The danger exists that the members of the regionally dominant ethnic group which consider the region as their exclusive dominion threaten both the universal and group specific rights of ethnic minorities within the region. This would not have been a
Challenges of Constitutional Protection of Ethnic Groups of the Southern Regional State of Ethiopia
Abstract This study explored the ethnic quest for self-governance in the Ethiopian federal system focusing on experience from the Southern Regional State. The FDRE Constitution has created a positive interrelationship between practicing the right to self-governance and ethnic identity thereby recognizing it to ethnically defined groups. Therefore, it is justifiable and legitimate for all ethnically defined groups to claim the right to self-governance. The main objective of this study was to examine the ethnic claims for self-governance in multi-ethnic Southern Regional State within the context of Ethiopian ethnic federal system. This study was based on qualitative method approach and the study employed a number of data collection methods such as data from primary and archival sources and secondary literature.The findings of the study revealed that by merging very diverse ethno-linguistic groups into one federated unit, the Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, the existing political system has created minority-within-minority. As a result, those ethnic groups, who have been given their own sub-regional administrative units, have acquired political majority over the subsumed ethnic groups. This has created a feeling of being dominated and marginalized by the subsumed ethnic groups such as Oyda, Goffa, Danta, Tembaro and so on. This is the basic cause for continuing dynamics of ethnic claims for self-governance at Regional, Zonal and Woreda status in this Regional State.The study recommended two policy options: one is to restructure the Southern Regional State and, the other, easiest remedy, is to organize additional Sub-Regional Units for some of the subsumed ethnically defined groups.
Ethnic federalism and the effective political participation of minorities in Ethiopia
A system of democracy built on ethnicity, if it intends for the effective political participation of all ethnic groups, should accommodate minority groups on the basis that they have meaningful in uence, at least, on matters affecting their interests. Particularly when ethnicity is the only means of ascribing to political power; the need for securing equitable representation of all ethnic groups becomes indispensable. Ethiopia’s long history of competing ethnic nationalisms and lack of consensus reveals that, the contending ethno-cultural groups at best require the safeguarding of effective representation in areas of public life that are of particular interest to them. Despite this, the current federal arrangement -even though with its recognizable breakthroughs from the past- has failed to accommodate different ethnic groups on the basis, which is adequate and effective. Such is visible in various aspect of public life, but is most pronouncedly observable in the demand for meaningful representation and decision-making powers by ethnic minority groups both at federal and regional legislative bodies. This paper therefore argues for a beyond majoritarian rule of power-sharing so as to ensure the effective political participation of ethnic minorities.
Decentralisation, development and accommodation of ethnic minorities: the case of Ethiopia
2012
Decentralisation of political, financial, and administrative powers to sub-national units has been, and remains to be, a major trend in both developing and developed states. Very often decentralisation is not optional for a state. However, a state has the option to choose what to achieve through its decentralisation programme. iii After choosing what it intends to achieve through its decentralisation programme, a state may design it in such a way that it may attain the intended purpose. Many countries design their decentralisation programmes with the purpose of 'deepening' democracy and empowering their citizens. Other states decentralise power with the purpose of achieving development. They do so based on the postulate that development is preferable when it is achieved through the participation of those who benefit from it and that decentralisation enhances the extent and quality of citizen's direct and indirect participation. States also decentralise powers based on the assumption that decentralisation brings efficiency in planning and implementing development projects. Several states also use their decentralisation programme to respond to the ethnic, religious, or other diversities of their people. They use territorial and non-territorial arrangement to accommodate the diversity of their people. Therefore, in some cases they create ethnically structured regional and local units and transfer to such unit political powers including the power to decide on cultural matters. Like in so many countries, the wind of decentralisation has blown over Ethiopia. The country has been implementing a decentralisation programme starting from 1991. Ethiopia has selected to achieve two principal purposes through its decentralisation programme namely, to achieve development and to respond to the ethnic diversity of its people. It is axiomatic that the success of a decentralisation programme, whether for achieving development or accommodating ethnic diversity, is greatly impacted on by its institutional design. This thesis, therefore, examines whether Ethiopia's decentralisation programme He indefatigably read each chapter of this thesis numerous times and provided me with insightful comments. His sense of thoroughness, enthusiasm, and friendliness were beyond depiction. v My sincere gratitude goes to Professor Nico Steytler who helped me in various ways. He, along with Professor De Visser, provided me the opportunity to work on this thesis. He has also been ready to read and comment on my works, to discuss issues relevant to my work, and to provide me with his perceptive comments. I am greatly indebted to him. I am also grateful to Professor Israel Leeman for all his assistance in editing the various chapters of the thesis I am thankful to the Community Law Centre (CLC) and the Local Democracy, Peace and Human Security Project (LDPHSP) which not only assisted me financially but also provided me with an environment which was ideal for research. I am especially obliged to Professor Steytler (the director of CLC) and Professor De Visser (the coordinator of LDPHSP) for providing me the opportunity to work on this thesis. I am also thankful to Nuffic Scholarship Programme, Utrecht University, and Jimma University which, in collaboration, made it possible for me to attend LL.M programme at UWC. It was while I was attending this LL.M programme that the opportunity for the PhD opened up.
Ethiopian Ethnic Federalism: A "God-Sent" Opportunity for All Ethnic Groups?
2014
Results of the implementation of Ethiopian ethnic federal- ism are remarkably anomalous even after this political order has been in place for more than two decades. Among others, the anomaly is evident within the range of ethnic groups existing at the local level. In particular minorities that share a federal state within majorities have not obtained equitable positive change from the federal system. Investigation of the impact on their social, economic, and political life shows that indeed they are inadequately accommodated to the extent they are promised at the level of constitutional promulgation. For some, the era of federalism has become even the era of old and/ or new predicaments. As an illustration, this article assesses the case of a minority group Known as Kumpal in the lowland of Northwest Ethiopia. Among the all-rounded problems of the Kumpal, the pa- per only takes into account the case of the unchecked in�耀ux of the highland population into their land and some of the p...
Balancing Autonomy Participation Right Ethnic Minorities : Appraisal on the Ethiopian Federalism
Ethnic minorities' rights, in the same way with other kinds of minority groups, have faced both promises and challenges in the global concerns of the past decades. In particular, the efforts to recognition of the rights in multicultural societies could be taken as experiences of mixed stories of either positive or negative consequences in many respects. In easy terms, the states concerned have either managed the accommodation of different 'self-conscious groups' demands or remained menaces of conflicts and instabilities.
Examining Minority Rights Protection under the Ethiopian Federal System
LUDOVIKA UNIVERSITY , 2021
This research investigates minority rights protection under the Ethiopian federal state structure, its legal instruments and institutional setups. Ethiopia is a land of a diverse society having more than eighty distinct ethnic groups, but the federal system conferred only seven ethnic groups, their own regions subsuming the rest within them. The territorial autonomy of ethno-national groups in Ethiopian federal context-in which the constituent units themselves are diverse-imposes a rigid conception of territory. The constituent unit that empowers autonomy for a particular group-the titular ethno-national group-claims exclusive control over territory and dominance within the constituent unit. Thus, the interests of minorities who are lumped with relatively dominant ethnic groups are not addressed and these minorities have neither been given self-determination nor are recognised as distinct nationalities of the country.
Verfassung in Recht und Übersee, 2013
Today, federalism is increasingly suggested and applied as a political/constitutional mechanism to accommodate ethnic pluralism. Used for this purpose, federalism is a device that allows the protection of the rights of ethnic minorities, which in turn promotes societal stability and prevents state disintegration. These two objectives-protection of ethnic minorities and guaranteeing state unity-were the major factors inducing the introduction and development of federalism in Ethiopia since the early 1990 s. The Ethiopian constitution of 1995 constitutes the legal foundation for a multicultural or ethnic federation which is composed of nine ethnic-based regional states or regions. Yet, the presence of more than 80 ethnic groups in Ethiopia has led to the fact that only a few ethnic groups have been empowered by the establishment of these regions; most ethnic groups are still a minority at regional level. This lack of overlap between regional and ethnic boundaries is most dramatically exemplified by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. Far from empowering one specific ethnic group, this region is extremely multi-ethnic with dozens of ethnic minorities. The paper aims to investigate how this intra-regional ethnic pluralism is taken care of by the regional state authorities by analysing the pertinent provisions of the regional constitution and their practical operation. The analysis reveals that the regional constitution has included and designed several minority-sensitive provisions and mechanisms, which are modelled upon the provisions and devices included in the federal constitution and which are therefore strongly reminiscent of the basic features of federations. The paper evaluates these mechanisms along the lines of what is the core objective of federalism: the achievement of unity in diversity. By doing so it observes that although the regional constitution has generally found an adequate balance between both potentially conflicting aims, a number of constitutional revisions to clarify administrative interrelationships and to offer a more comprehensive minority protection are in order. The paper furthermore identifies what seems to be an increasing gap between constitutional provisions emphasising territorial autonomy and a prevalent political attitude focusing on unity and concomitant administrative integration.
Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia: Reflecting on Diversity and Ethnic Identity
East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences
Ethiopia formed an ethnic federal system in 1991, which recognized ethnic autonomy entirely while ensuring the country’s unity. The new Constitution established a federal structure focused primarily on ethnic territorial units. The constitution ambitions to achieve ethnic freedom and equality by maintaining the state. Ethiopian politics has shifted to a federal liberal and plural system since the military dictatorship ended, as ethnic groups sought to exist under a federal structure that could preserve the country’s stability and diversity. The federal arrangement is noteworthy because its Constitution allows for the inheritance of every ethnic group. It supports an ethicised federal state with a secession mechanism and allows political parties to unite along ethnic lines. It is a worthwhile case study because it is an exception to the general trend in Africa. This paper examines how ethnic Federalism is a vital part of the Ethiopian Constitution and gives ethnic autonomy and identi...
2010
Above all, I owe a profound and special gratitude to my Advisor, Ato Getachew Assefa for his invaluable scholarly comments he has given me on each part of the draft of this thesis. With out his careful reading and his valuable comments this thesis could not be completed. My special indebtedness also goes to Ato Aberra Dagafa .With out his valuable ideas and reading materials the thesis could not have been completed. I would like also to express my heart felt indebtedness to my lovely instructors Ato Tsegaye Regassa, Ato Yared Legesse and Assefa Fiseha (Dr.) who insightfully motivated me to work in areas of minority rights. Particularly, Ato Yared deserves special thanks again for his unreserved assistance to have adequate reading materials in the field. Last but not least, I would like to extend my special thanks to my mother, Gonfe Fufa,
Consociation as a Guarantee for the Protection of Minority Rights in Ethiopia
International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 2019
The Constitution of Ethiopia takes diversity seriously as a response to the country’s history. On the other hand, the Constitution does not protect minority groups to the extent that it promised in its Preamble, as has been observed for many years. This necessitates a system that at best fosters the interests of minorities and thereby contributes to establishing a legitimate government. This article recommends that a consociational arrangement protects minorities by enabling them to exercise autonomy at the municipal level and be represented in the federal government, thereby allowing them to participate in the federal law-making process. Executive power sharing allows ethnic groups to participate in the federal executive and feel that they are part of the government. Finally, minority veto allows them to veto laws that affect their vital interests such as language rights.