Chapter Four: State, Government and Citizenship

• Understanding state
• State refers to in a confusing range of things: a collection of institutions, a
territorial unit, a philosophical idea, an instrument of coercion or
oppression…
• State has been understood in four quite different ways ;
A. Idealist perspective;
• State is seen as an ethical community underpinned by mutual
sympathy(understanding) – ‗universal altruism‘.
• States are rational actors capable of ensuring lasting peace and security.
State is seen as moral institution.
 B. Functionalist approaches: focus on the role or purpose of state institutions.
Function- maintenance of social order.
Is set of institutions that uphold order& deliver social stability
C. The organizational view: define state as the apparatus of government .
-Responsible for the collective organization of social existence.
It includes various institutions :
the bureaucracy, the military, the police, the courts, and so on.
• Concerned with the state‘s inward-looking face,
i.e. deal about states internal activities and ability to maintain domestic order
 D. The international approach : state views it primarily as an actor on the
world stage;
• Deals with the state‘s outward-looking face,
i.e its relations with other states and, therefore, its ability to provide
protection against external attack.
• Is found in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of the
State (1933).
• Accordingly,the state has four features:
o a defined territory,
o population,
o an effective government and
o sovereignty.
• Sovereignty, is the principle of absolute and unlimited power. It
has two aspects - Internal and External.
• Internal Sovereignty -inside the state there can be no other
authority that may claim equality with it.
The state is the final source of all laws internally.
• External sovereignty implies that the state should be free from
foreign control of any kind.
 Rival Theories of State
• Contending theories of state about origins, development and impact on
society.
1.The Pluralist State:
 State is seen as a neutral arbiter, act as ‗umpire‘ or ‗referee‘ in society.
( i.e. capable of protecting each citizen from the invasions of fellow
citizens).
 Proposed by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke (social contract theory).
 Both argued that state had arisen out of a voluntary agreement.
 Safeguard from insecurity, disorder and brutality of the state of
nature (life without government).
 Without a state, individuals abuse, exploit and enslave one another.
Locke put it, where there is no law there is no freedom.
• Pluralism holds that the state is neutral, insofar as it is vulnerable to
the influence of various groups and interests, and all social classes.
 state is not biased in favor of any particular interest or group,
 does not have an interest of its own that is separate from those of
society.
• Thus, the state is ‗the servant of society‘.
2. The Capitalist State
The Marxist notion of a capitalist state as instrument of class oppression:
State serves the capitalist society.
• The state emerges out of, and in a sense reflects, the class system.
 It arises out of, and reflects, capitalist society.
 State acting as an instrument of oppression wielded by the dominant
class.
 Its role is to serve the long-term interests of capitalism.
3. The Leviathan State
• The Leviathan is a centralized government with absolute power
over its subjects.
• Individuals give up their liberty to the sovereign in exchange for
the protection of their lives.
• Is one associated in modern politics with the New Right.
A a strong antipathy towards state intervention in economic and
social life
• It advocate that state is parasitic growth that threatens individual
liberty& economic security.
4. The Patriarchal State
 Proposed by feminists (feminist theory).
Radical feminists place insist that – state is essentially an
institution of male power (gender inequality).
Liberal feminists viewed the state in positive terms, seeing
state intervention as a means of redressing gender inequality
and enhancing the role of women.
This type of state address that; if women are denied legal and
political equality, and especially the right to vote the state is
biased in favor of men.
 The Role of the State
A. Minimal States
• Is the ideal of classical liberals, whose aim is to ensure individuals freedom.
• Is rooted in social-contract theory, the state is merely a protective body .
Accordingly, the state acts as a night watchman.
Three core functions.
1. The state exists to maintain peace and domestic order.
2. ensures that contracts or voluntary agreements made b/n private citizens
are enforced,&
3. It provides protection against external attack.
• Established police force, a court system and a military of some kind.
Economic, social, cultural, moral and other responsibilities belong to the
individual, and are therefore firmly part of civil society.
B. Developmental state
• Intervenes in economic life with the specific purpose of :
Promoting industrial growth and economic development.
Creating partnership b/n state & major economic actors.
• The classic example of a developmental state is Japan.
C. Social Democratic (Welfare) States
Upholding social restructuring, usually in accordance with;
 fairness, equality and social justice.
helping to resolve the imbalances and injustices of a market economy.
focus less upon the generation of wealth and more upon equitable or just
distribution of wealth.
This help to eradicate poverty and reduce social inequality.
D. Collectivized state
• States control the whole economic life of people to avoid private
enterprises.
• Planned economy (command economy).
• Collectivized states bring the entirety of economic life under state
control.
E. Totalitarian States
Is the most extreme and extensive form of interventionism.
The state brings not only the economy, but also education, culture, religion,
family life and so on under direct state control.
E.g. Germany under Hitler
USSR under Stalin
 Understanding Government
• Government is the formal and institutional processes that operate at the
national level to maintain public order.
• Administers a country and main organization dealing with affairs of the whole
country.
• Is an administrative wing of the state.
• Thus, government applies both to national states & subdivisions of national
states (regional states and municipal governments).
• To be stable and effective, must possess two essential attributes:
Authority (legitimate power to exercise with out coercion or manipulation)
Legitimacy (the popular acceptance of a governing regime or being lawful)
Purposes/ functions of government

• Self-preservation
• Distribution and regulation of resources
• Management of conflicts
• Protection of rights of citizens:
• Protection of property
• Provision of goods and services…
 Understanding Citizenship
• Citizen- the person who is a legal member of a particular State.
• Citizenship-rules regulating the legal r/ns b/n State and the
individual.
Common elements under definition of citizenship:
 Citizenship as a Status of Rights: various types of rights whose
exercised by citizen.
 Membership and Identity: linked to shared territory, common
culture, ethnic characteristics, history, etc.
 Participation : participation of citizens in different activities
 Inclusion and Exclusion: all people who live in a particular area
may not be considered as citizen.
Foreigners excluded from some rights that have given to citizens.
 Theories of Citizenship
The liberal thought
Liberals insist that individuals should be free to decide on their own
conception of the good life.
-Advocates absolute freedom of individuals
Three fundamental principles which a liberal govt must provide and
protect.
(1) Equality, whereby the govt has to treat individuals who are similarly
situated in the same way and afford them the same rights;
(2) Due process, such that the govt is required to treat individuals over
whom it exercises power fairly; and
(3) Mutual consent by which membership in the political community
rests on the consensual relationship between the individual and the
state.
 • Individuals are free to form their own opinions, pursue their own
projects, and transact their own business freely(principles of liberal
theory of citizenship ).
• Liberal citizens are thus left to their own devices without much
guidance from the state.
They must decide for themselves how to use their constitutionally
secured freedoms, decide what kind of citizen to be …
 Citizenship rests on the individual and it is the individual that
determines its aspects.
 Citizenship in Communitarian Thought
• Communitarianism emphasizes on the importance of society.
• It also known as the nationalist model.
The good of the community is much above individual rights and citizenship
comes from the community identity, enabling people to participate.
The State must provide a policy for the common good, according to the way of
life of the community.
• Argue that the identity of citizens cannot be understood outside the territory in
which they live, their culture and traditions, arguing that the basis of its rules
and procedures and legal policy is the shared common good.
• Communitarians views individuals as the product of social practices.
 Citizenship in Republican Thought
• This thought puts emphasis on both individual and group rights.
• Means republican attempts to incorporate the liberal notion of the self-
interested individual within the communitarian framework of egalitarian and
community belonging.
• Like communitarian thought, it emphasizes on what bind citizens together in to
a particular community.
• Republicans don‘t pressurize individuals to surrender their particular identities
like the communitarian thought.
• It underpinned by a concern with individual obligation to participate in
communal affairs.
• It encourages people to look for the common ground on which they stand,
despite their differences, as citizens.
 • Republican school advocate self-government. Yet, republican thought do not
agree with the case that all forms of restraints deprive people‘s freedom.
• Thus, acknowledge the value of public life.
There are two essential elements of the republican citizenship:
publicity and self-government.
• Publicity refers to the condition of being open and public.
• Besides, public affairs such as politics, as the common concern of the public,
must be conducted openly in the public for reasons of convenience.
• Politics requires public debate and decisions, which in turn require regular,
established procedures.
• Thus, the rule of law is the standard formula for the republicans.
• The citizens and govt in a republican State shall not act arbitrary,
impulsively, or recklessly but according to the laws of the State .
 Multicultural Citizenship
• There is a need to move towards a new type of multicultural citizenship
appropriate to highly diverse societies and contemporary economic trends.
• The increasing diversity in States challenges particularly the liberal conceptions
of citizenship.
• The conception of citizenship in a modern State should be expanded to include
cultural rights and group rights within a democratic framework.
• Some principles of multicultural citizenship are :
Taking equality of citizenship rights as a starting point. citizens enjoy equal
rights and equality before the law.
Establishing mechanisms for group representation and participation.
disadvantaged groups are often excluded from decision-making processes.
 Differential treatment for people with different characteristics, needs and
wants.
Government should take measures to combat barriers based on gender,
sexual preference, age, disability, location, Aboriginality, ethnicity, religion,
area of origin and culture .
• Multicultural citizenship allows for marginalized voices to be heard.
Society is formed of different groups which are either dominant or
oppressed .
 Modes/Ways of Acquiring and Loosing Citizenship
Ways of Acquiring Citizenship
I. Citizenship from birth/of Origin
Two forms are there.
Jus Soli (law/right of the soil) –obtaining citizenship by place of birth.
Jus Sanguinis (law/right of blood). Obtaining citizenship by blood of mother and
father. (one‘s parents )
However, jus soli could not apply to children born from diplomats and refugees live in
a host State. Because of two special principles (international diplomatic immunities):
extraterritoriality and inviolability principles.
II. Citizenship by naturalization /law
Is the legal process by which foreigners become citizens of another country.
Marriage, legitimization /adoption, reintegration /restoration… are some ways of
obtaining citizenship through law.
The Modes of Acquiring Ethiopian Citizenship
A. Acquisition by Descent - Through parent
The 1930 Ethiopian nationality law asserted that ―any person born in
Ethiopia or abroad, whose father or mother is Ethiopian, is an Ethiopian
subject.
Ethiopian citizenship cannot acquire by place of birth principle.
B. Acquisition by Law (Naturalization) :
Article 6(2) of the 1995 FDRE constitution also avers that aliens can get
Ethiopian citizenship.
Ethiopian nationality proclamation of 2003 articles 5&12 deals about
various ways:
 Grant on Application (registration) -having various criteria depending
on states law.
For instance, applicant shall get Ethiopian nationality if, and only if, he/she
 reach the age of majority, 18 years;
 lived in Ethiopia for a total of at least four years;
has sufficient and lawful source of income (economically self-reliant);
is able to communicate in any of the indigenous languages spoken in
Ethiopia;
has a good character and not recorded criminal conviction;
has been released from his/her previous nationality (a stateless person);
takes the oath of allegiance indicated in Article 12 of the proclamation:
―I-----, solemnly affirm that I will be a loyal national of the federal
democratic republic of Ethiopia and be faithful to its constitution‖.
 Cases of Marriage
Preconditions:
it should be legal marriage
the marriage shall lapse at least for two years;
the alien married to an Ethiopian citizen have to live in Ethiopian for at
least one year preceding the submission of the application;
the alien have to reach the age of majority, be a morally good person,
lastly, take the oath of allegiance stated under Article 12 of the
proclamation.
Cases of Adoption ( Legitimating): through caretaker‘s
The child has not attained the age of majority; lives in Ethiopia together with
his/her adopting parent; and been released from his/her previous nationality.
 Citizenship by Special Cases: an alien who has made an
outstanding contribution in the interest of Ethiopia may be
conferred with Ethiopian nationality by law without undergoing the
pre-conditions stated.
Re - Admission to Ethiopian Nationality
(Reintegration/Restoration): this is a process by which a person
acquires his/her lost citizenship.
A person who has lost Ethiopian citizenship status may get back
Ethiopian nationality having requirements in which the person is
expected to fulfill.
By applying to the Security, Immigration and Refugee Affairs
Authority for re-admission.
III. Dual Citizenship
Dual citizenship is the condition of being a citizen of two nations.
Today just under half of all African countries still prohibit dual
citizenship on paper—though in many cases the rules are not
enforced,
Ethiopia prohibits its citizens to have dual citizenship.
Article 20(1) of the 2003 nationality proclamation assert that:
―any Ethiopian who voluntarily acquires another nationality shall
be deemed to have voluntarily renounced his Ethiopian nationality.‖
 Ways of Loosing Citizenship
1. Deprivation is an involuntary loss of citizenship.
• By committing serious crimes.
• E.g. participating in election of external state,
exposing the military secrets for enemies, …
• The 2003 Ethiopian nationality proclamation prohibits the possibility of
losing Ethiopian nationality through deprivation.
2. Lapse/expiration : not applicable to Ethiopia.
• Occurred by staying abroad state for long time.
• Permanent residence or long term residence abroad beyond the number of
years permitted by the country in question.
3. Renunciation -is the voluntary way of losing citizenship.
• An Ethiopian national has the full right to renounce his/her Ethiopian
nationality depending on wishes.
• Ethiopian nationality may not be released until:
the citizen has discharged his/her outstanding national obligations or
penalty for the crime he/she has accused of or convicted. This situation is
called indelible allegiance.
4. Substitution: citizenship may be lost when the original citizenship is
substituted by another state, where it is acquired through naturalization.
• This also may occur when a particular territory is annexed by another
state.
Generally, Ethiopian nationality lose through renunciation & upon
acquisition of other country’s nationality .
 Statelessness
Statelessness
• According to the international law,
stateless person is a person who is not considered as a national by any state
under the operation of its law.
• Statelessness almost always results when state failure leads people to flee due
to :
-Civil war ,famine or an oppressive regime, invasion and conquest by
another state from their home country.
• Individuals could also become stateless persons because of deprivation and
when renouncing their citizenship without gaining nationality in another State.
• Some people become stateless as a result of government action. To settle
such conditions, the UN has adopted a convention on the protection and
reduction of stateless persons.
 Chapter five
Constitution, Democracy and Human Rights
Constitution and Constitutionalism
Constitution
• Is figuratively defined as the fundamental or basic law of a state.
 sets out the structure of the state,
lists the rights of citizens
limits the power government.
Is a collection of principles according to which the powers of the
government, the rights of the governed, and the relation between the two are
adjusted.
Is supreme law of a land, any other law contradicted with the provisions of
the constitution becomes void or invalid.
 Peculiar Features of Constitution
Generality: a constitution provides the general principles of a state.
It is not detailed
 Permanency: unlike laws constitution is made for undefined period of time.
That means constitution serve for a long lap of ages.
Supremacy: Constitutions are supreme laws, taking precedence over all
others, and defining how all the others should be made.
All other laws are secondary.
Codified document-Constitutions are written down/compiled one.
Allocation of powers: allocates powers and functions to govt and specifies the
rights and duties of govts and citizens.
 Major Purposes and Functions of Constitution
 It serves as a framework for Government:
Is a plan for organizing the operation of govt; which guides the functions and
powers of the executive, legislative and judicial bodies .
i.e a brief and a general outline of duties and rights of governments and also that
of citizens.
 It Limits the Powers of Government:
In a constitutionally limited govt, officials are always abided by the constitution.
i.e there is no decision or action that will be undertaken arbitrarily.
 It protects individual and collective rights of citizens
 It provides Government legitimacy/stability
 Classification of Constitutions
Constitution based on forms of document
Written Constitution : provisions are written in detail, embodied in a single
formal written instrument, codified &exists in a single document.
Merits of written constitution:
It is easily accessible to citizens.
Citizens can easily learn about their rights and duties and the basic laws
 It is full of clarity and definiteness because the provisions are written in
detail.
 It has the quality of stability, since people know the nature of constitutional
provisions , they feel a sense of satisfaction.
Demerits of written constitution
It creates a situation of rigidity.
It becomes a play thing in the hands of the lawyers and the courts.
D/t interpretations come up from time to time that unsettle the judicial thought
of the country.
 is not easily adapted to a new situation or changing circumstances. It needs
be continuously amended to be adapted to a new situation.
Unwritten Constitution
• Fundamental principles and powers of the government are not written down in
any single document.
• most of the rules of the constitution exist in the form of usages and customs.
• It consists of customs, conventions, traditions, …
Merits of Unwritten Constitution
 It has the quality of elasticity and adaptability.
people may familiarize them in response to the new constitution.
 It is so dynamic that it prevents the chances of popular uprisings.
It is easy to amend/change.
Demerits of Unwritten Constitution
it is not easily accessible to the public.(inaccessible)
difficult to create awareness through education.
 It leads to situations of instability and state of confusion.
 It may be suitable to a monarchical or aristocratic system.
 • Constitution based on complexity of amending process:
Rigid Constitution:
It is difficult to amend /change.
Flexible Constitution:
It is simple to amend as such no special required procedure for amending a
constitution.
The simplest amendment procedure is the one which requires an absolute majority
(two thirds support) in the parliament.
The UK and New Zealand, may be altered by a simple majority vote in the
legislature.
Constitution based on degree of practice:
Effective Constitution:
-Government/citizens practices correspond to the provisions of the
constitution.
Nominal constitution:
-When the constitution only remains to have paper value
Based on the kind of state structure
Federal Constitution: is one that distributes power among the different units of
a state administration.
Unitary Constitution: in unitary constitution state power is concentrated in the
hands of the central government.
Constitutionalism
Essential elements for constitutionalism:
 democratic constitution
 effective implementation.
Constitutionalism, desires a political order in which the powers of the
government are limited.
Thus, constitutionalism does not merely require the existence of constitution.
 The Constitutional Experience of Ethiopia: Pre and Post 1931
Traditional Constitution (Pre- 1931)
1. Fetha Negest (The Law of Kings)
 was a religious and secular legal provision
deals with religious ethics of Christianity.
It was used as the sources of constitutional, civil, and criminal laws.
Serves as both religious laws and legal provisions of state.
The king vested with absolute power.
The throne was hereditary, thought to be appointed divinely, that is derives his power
directly from God.
2. Kibre Negest (The Glory of Kings)
It defined who should become king in Ethiopia
i.e., it determine the succession of the throne in Ethiopia.
It was the principal sources of legitimacy for the kings.
(the Solomonic dynasty)
3. Ser’ate Mengist
-provided certain administrative protocol and directives in the 19th century.
It can hardly be considered to be a document of Constitutional Law
Used for allocating power among the Crown, its dignitaries and the Church
 The 1931 First Written Constitution
• The constitution named the emperor as
‗Siyume Egziabiher, Niguse Negast Ze Ethiopia‘ which literally means:
Elect of God, King of Kings of Ethiopia‘.
• Internal and external factors forced the development of the 1931 constitution.
Motives- modernization and centralization
• Strong aspiration to view Ethiopia as a modern state to the rest of the world.
• The emperor had a deep interest of centralizing the state power .
It was designed to unify and centralize all state power in the hands of the
monarch.
 The Revised Constitution of 1955
• It was revised because of internal and external factors.
• mainly to cope up with the social and political dynamics of the then
period, global politics,& Ethio-Eritrean federation.
It declares the inviolability of the Emperor‘s dignity
• the power appointing and dismissing members of the parliament offices
were in the hand of the Emperor.
• The federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia led to the addition of two new
documents in to the Ethiopia legal system.
These were the federal act and the Eritrean constitution.
Thus, the emperor was forced to revise the 1931 Constitution.
 The 1987 Constitution of People’s Democratic Republic Ethiopia (PDRE)
Adopted in 1987; unitary state structure
Innovations:
secularism introduced for the first time;
contains provisions on democratic and human rights;
 recognized the d/t cultural identities and the equality of Nation and
Nationalities;
Introduced a party system ( the workers party of Ethiopia).
 aimed at the principles of Marxist and Leninist ideology;
 Aimed at giving power to the peoples so that they exercise through
referendum, local and national assembly.
 The 1995 (FDRE) Constitution
The 1995 Constitution has some salient features;
introduction of a federal form of governance
 constitutional interpretation of power given to House of federation.
second chamber of the parliament
 principle of self-determination of collectivities,
rule of law, democracy, development, fundamental rights and freedoms,
equality and non-discrimination, sustainable peace and affirmative action in its preamble
part
It gives recognition to five fundamental principles;
• principles of popular sovereignty (art. 8), constitutionalism and constitutional supremacy
(art. 9), sanctity of human rights (art. 10), secularism (art. 11) and accountability and
transparency of government (Art.12).
 Democracy and Democratization
• Democracy literally means the government of the people or government of
the majority. (rule by the people).
• It embraces the principles of equality, individual freedom and opportunity for
the common people, as those who actually wield political power.
• Abraham Lincoln definition ‗government of the people, by the people, and for
the people‘.
• ‗Government of the people‘ (rulers assigned by the people /source of power).
• ‗government by the people‘, (public participates in government and indeed
governs itself : popular self-government).
• ‗government for the people‘ (that government benefits the people) .
 • Ways of exercising democracy:
A. Direct Democracy: the right to make political decisions is exercised directly
by the whole citizen.
Example: referendum, recall, initiative and plebiscite.
B. Indirect Democracy
Political power exercise through representatives chosen by themselves.
They will submit their sovereignty for their representatives.
The representatives will act on the behalf of the citizens they are representing.
 Values and Principles of Democracy
There are three core values of democracy.
Liberty(freedom), justice & equality.
A. Liberty: includes personal freedom (being free from arbitrary arrest …)
It includes,
political freedom (the right to participate freely in the political process)
economic freedom ( the right to acquire, use, transfer and dispose of private
property...)
 B. Justice: three general senses of fairness
These are;
distributive Justice (distributing benefits and burdens based on fairness),
corrective Justice (a proportional response should be in place to correct
wrongs and injuries)
procedural justice (procedures used for gathering information and making
decisions should be guided by such principles as impartiality and openness of
proceedings).
Equality: Three notions of equality;
political equality
social equality
economic equality
Fundamental principles of democracy- some the principles are;
 Popular sovereignty: citizen holds the ultimate authority over public officials
and their policies
Constitutional Supremacy: constitution at the highest level in the hierarchy of
laws.
Rule of Law: the law should govern the people and the people should obey it.
Secularism: refers to separation of state and religion,
Separation of Powers :political power should be divided among several bodies
or officers of the state.
Free, Fair and Periodic Election , Multiparty system ,promotion and protection
of human rights
Majority Rule Minority Right
Democratization
• Is the process of transitions from nondemocratic to democratic regimes.
• It is not a simple process and will taken an extend period of time to complete.
• There are three main elements in democratization;
the removal of the authoritarian regime,
installation of a democratic regime and,
the consolidation, or long-term sustainability of the democratic regime.
• There are different actors that participated in this process:
Political parties
Media
Civic societies
 Human Rights: Concepts and Theories
• Human rights are protections to which all human beings are entitled because of
their humanity
• not protected because of their social status or individual merit.
• They are rights that belong to all human beings irrespective of differences.
• It is natural right and apply to all people everywhere.
Principles of human rights
Human rights are universal –all rights are expected to be applied equally
everywhere, every-time and to everyone in this world.
Human rights are inalienable-they cannot be surrendered or taken away.
Human rights are eternal-as far as human beings exist ,it is continuously
exercised.
 Right Holders and Duty Bearers
Right holders are those who are entitled to enjoy, possess or claim a given right.
E.g. every human being, all children, women, people with disability…
Duty bearers -are those who carry the obligation of promoting, protecting, and
fulfilling these right to the right holders.
The primary (not the only) duty carrier is the state.
Categories of human rights
Human rights include ;
civil and political rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom from torture.
economic and social rights, such as the rights to health and education.
group /collective right e.g the right to healthy environment or
individual right e.g. the right to a fair trial
• The common way of categorization:
First, Second and Third generation rights.
1.Civil and political rights(First Generation Rights)
Civil rights – includes the right to life, liberty and personal security, equality
before the law, protection from arbitrary arrest …
Political rights include - the right to speech and expression, assembly and
association, vote and political participation…
Civil and political rights are seen as an immediately realizable rights.
 All states regardless of their economic, social, political differences are
expected to ensure the realization of these rights immediately.
• called ‘negative‘ rights which entail the absence of their violation in order to
be upheld.
2. Social and Economic Rights (Second Generation Rights)
The right to
education, health and wellbeing,
work and fair payment, form trade unions and free associations,
leisure time, and the right to social security.
-Called ‗positive’ rights.
This is to indicate that whose realization is highly subjected to the
economic capability of states.
3. Peace, Development and Environmental Rights (Third
Generation Rights)
It include rights to public goods such as;
the right to development,
the right to clean environment and the right to peace.
require global cooperation and shared responsibility to world peace,
development and the environment.
-Considered as an emerging rights.
The rights holders and duty bearers of the rights included under this
category are yet to be identified clearly.
 Derogations and Limitations on Human Rights
• There are two conditions under which human rights can be restricted:
limitation and derogation
• Limitations are lawful suspension of rights.
Limitations can take the form of restrictions and/or derogation.
Restrictions are justifiable limits of human rights during the normal times.
for the sake of: safeguarding of national security or public peace; the prevention
of crimes …
Derogation means a temporary non-application and suspension of rights by
the state in abnormal or emergency (natural/artificial) situations.
• In Ethiopia, both federal and regional governments have constitutional powers
to declare state of emergency.
• Regional states can declare in two conditions: natural disaster and epidemics.
• The FDRE Constitution (art. 93) clearly specifies four conditions for such
declaration by the Federal Government.
• The Council of Ministers can declare a State of Emergency in the following
situations:
1 External Invasion,
2 Breakdown of law and order when it: (i) endangers the constitutional order,
(ii) cannot be controlled by regular law enforcement,
3 Natural disaster, and
4 Epidemic.
Non-derogability of Human Rights
• There are also certain unique and inherent human rights, which can never be
suspended under any circumstances.
• According to ICCPR, : right against arbitrary deprivation of life (art. 6);
freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment;
and freedom from medical or scientific experimentation without consent (art. 7);
freedom from slavery and servitude (art. 8); freedom from imprisonment for
inability to fulfill a contractual obligation (art. 11); prohibition against the
retrospective operation of criminal laws (art. 15); right to recognition before the
law (art. 16); and freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 18) are non-
derogable.
• The FDRE Constitution (art. 93(3[c])) states that rights under ;
Articles 1, 18, 25, and sub-Articles 1 and 2 of Article 39 of the Constitution are
non-derogable rights.
 Implementation and Enforcement of Human Rights

International Mechanisms and the International Bill of Human Rights

United Nation Charter
Adopted in Oct 24, 1945.
The UN has six prime organs, namely;
the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC),
International Criminal Court (ICC), Office of the Secretariat and the Trusteeship
Council (Suspended operations-1994 with the independence of Palau).
 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Adopted by the general assembly of the united nations in 1948.
It stands for the protection and promotion of human rights around the world .
Is not a binding instrument
In addition ICCPR, CEDAW, ICERD ….. are some of international human rights
instruments.
 Regional Mechanisms
• Under the UN umbrella, there are regional human rights systems which cover
three parts of the world; Africa, the Americas and Europe.
• In African, this system is established under the African Union (AU) structure; in
the Americas it is part of the Organization of American States (OAS); and in
Europe it is embedded in the European Union‘s (EU) organizational structure.
• Currently, 53 African countries are signatory members to the AU and the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1981/86)
 The Ethiopian Human Rights System
• The FDRE Constitution classifies human rights as one of its five
fundamental principles .
• It has established a national human rights instrument ;
the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and
the Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman (EIO)
• Additionally, the Federal and Regional Ethics and Anti-Corruption
Commissions and the Chief Auditor‘s Office are agencies that consolidate
transparency and accountability.
The End