National Inquiry/Public Hearings in Amhara and Oromia Regions Deprivation of Liberty and Treatment of Persons Deprived of Their Liberty

  • Call for submissions
  • Anywhere

Call for Submissions

INTRODUCTION

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been conducting a series of public hearings on the right of persons deprived of liberty across various cities in the country. A national inquiry/public hearing is an investigation into a systemic human rights problem in which the general public is invited to participate.

National inquiries are conducted in a transparent, public manner. They involve the collection of evidence from witnesses and experts in public and the investigation of systemic patterns of human rights violations. A report is then compiled along with findings and recommendations which will be published and serve as an advocacy document.

A national inquiry also enables NHRIs

  • to raise public awareness and provide human rights education generally and on the specific issues considered; and
  • to identify future action that should be taken by the institution itself or by others to provide remedies to victims.

For the purpose of this national inquiry, the EHRC has established an inquiry commission to conduct public hearings on the right of persons deprived of liberty. The EHRC has conducted two public hearings one in Hawassa and the other in Jigjiga. The EHRC plans to conduct two additional public hearings one in March 2023 in Bahir Dar and in April 2023 in Adama.

TOPIC OF THE CALL

The EHRC invites individuals, groups, academia, civil society organizations (CSOs), and any other interested person to submit information and documents relating to

  • Alleged violations of the right to liberty, including (arbitrary or unlawful detention or arrest) occurring in the Amhara and Oromia regions in the last five years;
  • Victims of alleged violations, including their age, gender, disability, and other status;
  • Persons and institutions responsible for the alleged violations;
  • Policy and legal gaps causing or contributing to the alleged violations; and
  • Recommendations to remedy the alleged violations.

LANGUAGE AND DEADLINE

For contributions to the public hearing in Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, the deadline for all submissions is March 10, 2023.

For contributions to the public hearing in Adama, Oromia Region, the deadline for submissions is April 10, 2023.

The EHRC strongly encourages submissions as early as possible to allow enough time for the Inquiry Commissioners to review the information, including any necessary follow-up.

Information can be provided in Amharic, Afaan Oromo, or English.

CONSENT FORM

The EHRC places a high value on source security, particularly in terms of confidentiality and the “do no harm” principles. It reveals the identities of individuals providing information or evidence only with their informed consent, and it will utilize the information submitted by them in line with their stated preferences when providing it.

Individuals, groups, academia, CSOs, and organizations intending to submit information and recommendations to the EHRC are respectfully invited to fill out this ANNEX[1] and attach it to their submissions. It is not mandatory to provide all requested information if it is not available, however, special attention should be paid to completing the consent form section.

Academicians, CSOs, students, think-tanks groups, public and private institutions, NGOs, and any other interested person/groups who want to submit full-fledged empirical research need not fill out and send the consent form (you can send it simply by the email address indicated below).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To ensure the security and confidentiality of the information submitted, it is advisable to send it to the Inquiry Commissioners via email at callforsubmissions@ehrc.org.et or callforsubmissions@ehrc.org.

Please contact the Inquiry Commissioners at commissioners@ehrc.org.et or callforsubmissions@ehrc.org if you have any questions.

Please keep in mind that individual acknowledgments of information receipt will not be issued to authors(s).

It should be noted that not all of the information submitted will be included in the National Inquiry Reports. Cases alleging violations that fall outside the EHRC’s mandate, in particular, will not be considered.

[1] When this annex is clicked it should direct to the PDF format Annex that has Submission Sheet