Ethiopia’s new Organizations of Civil Societies Proclamation No. 1113/2019: Promises and Pitfalls

Abstract

Starting from the 1990s, civil society organizations (CSOs) have made significant contributions in promoting social justice and human rights in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the work of CSOs in this area was not always received with open hands. In Ethiopia, the push back against the pro-democracy and pro-rights advocacy began intensifying following the 2005 elections and took concrete shape with the passing of the Proclamation to Provide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies (CSP) in 2009. The claim that the 2009 CSP, and its associated directives, violated international human rights standards was one of the underlying reasons behind calls for the reform of the law. A call that would not be heeded until the recent political changes that swept the country in April 2018 and the subsequent passing of the new Organizations of Civil Societies Proclamation in March 2019. This article, based on doctrinal legal research and standards developed by the UN and African human rights systems, compares the two laws including by pointing out their peculiar features. Underlining the areas that merit further attention, the paper concludes that the new CSO law is a step towards democratization and wider CSO engagement in the country.