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Executive Summary: Annual Human Rights Situation Report on Disability Rights and Rights of Older Persons
This Annual Human Rights Situation Report, covering the period from June 2023 to June 2024, which corresponds to 2016 Ethiopian Fiscal Year, highlights key positive developments and issues of concerns in relation to the human rights promotion and protection of older persons and persons with disabilities. Key positive developments include: five higher education institutions have started to implement EHRC’s recommendations to address the gaps identified through its monitoring; the inclusion of disability related issues by Ministry of Health in the revised health policy; the possibility included in the draft Federal Civil Service Proclamation to extend retirement age by four years under special circumstances; the opening of boarding schools for the blind in Addis Ababa and Amhara Region; the establishment of a dedicated corner in health institutions for persons with disabilities; and the adoption of a guideline requiring newly built health facilities to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Additional key positive developments include: Ethiopian Airlines enhancing its mobile application to ensure accessibility for blind persons based on EHRC’s recommendations forwarded following the monitoring it conducted on Bole International Airport and various regional airports; commendable efforts by Addis Ababa City Administration to make roads constructed as part of the Corridor Development project accessible for older persons and persons with disabilities, including the construction of accessible toilets; and the establishment of a regional committee to monitor the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in Amhara Region.
Among the concerning human rights issues in relation to the rights of older persons and persons with disabilities identified during the period from June 2023 to June 2024, are the killing, injuries and destruction/looting of properties, as a result of past and ongoing armed conflicts that occurred in various parts of the country. Armed conflicts, natural disasters, and displacements have disproportionately increased the violation of human rights of persons with disabilities and older persons and exacerbated their vulnerability.
