On Monday, (November 12th) Ethiopia was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, together with four other African countries, Kenya, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone. They were chosen along with a total of seventeen other states to serve as members of the Council for a three-year term, beginning on January 1st 2013. Ethiopia has always been committed to the advancement of human rights within the country, establishing, for example, its own national Human Rights Commission and setting up the Office of Ombudsman. It has also made important contributions to the establishment and strengthening of the Human Rights Council over many years. The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States. It has the responsibility for promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. It was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006.
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* Originally published on A Week in the Horn – Nov. 16, 2012 issue, titled “Ethiopia elected to the UN Human Rights Council”.
Items from A Week in the Horn are re-published here with a permission to do so.
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