Addisu Gebregziabher (PhD), Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said this week that that the Commission will vigilantly monitor the human rights situation in Ethiopia during the period the recently enacted state of emergency proclamation is in effect.
The Commissioner stated this at a press briefing following a quarterly consultative meeting with different stakeholders held at Intercontinental Addis Hotel on Thursday.
“Of course, it is clearly stated in the legal structures of the Command Post that oversees the implementation of the state of emergency that respect for human right is very important. However, we are responsible to follow and make sure that there is no human right violation in the process, and if violation of human rights occur to report it to the concerned bodies to be addressed,” the Commissioner explained.
“It is also our responsibility to monitor that the rights of detainees is indeed respected, and whether investigations are carried out in a manner that does not infringe human rights. Each and every detainee should be treated properly without the violation of their rights,” he added.
“We are working to cope with the realities of the state of emergency proclamation. In this regard we have conducted a series of discussions with the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) and the staffs of the commission.”
According to the Commissioner, the Commission is now giving awareness trainings to its investigators on how to conduct investigations in line with the state of emergency proclamation as well as its own establishment proclamation where there are reports of human right violations.
So far, the Commission has received two complaints of human rights violations in connection with the state of emergency and has launched a probe. “The two complains came from the Eastern Hararghe and Meki areas and we have sent our investigators to these areas to undertake a proper investigation. We need to check whether the alleged violations took place before we make any conclusions,” the Commissioner said.
