The 2017 human right report of the US Department of State has detailed very harsh measures against human right in the country.
The 39 page dossier details every aspects of human right issue and mainly focused on basic right abuse in the year 2017.
However the Embassy of the US in Addis Ababa expressed its hope for a better achievement in the current year.
The embassy that issued a statement following the US Department of State 2017 Human Rights Report for Ethiopia, stated that the 2017 Human Rights Report for Ethiopia reflects serious challenges to the Ethiopian people’s ability to exercise their basic rights last year.
“We believe there is reason for optimism that the 2018 Human Rights Report will tell a different story, one of progress,” the embassy said in a statement expressing its hope.
“Notwithstanding the ongoing state of emergency, about which we have already expressed our views, 2018 has seen positive steps as well, including the release of thousands of prisoners. We are also encouraged by strong and clear statements by Prime Minister Abiy regarding the need for reforms that would ensure Ethiopian’s rights are protected and that they are able to participate in an inclusive political environment,” the statement added.
In its dossier with seven sections the State Department has compiled the abuses recorded by international and local agencies and organization that occurred in the past year.
It has claimed that the government does not take measures on those who abuse human rights under its system.
“The government generally did not take steps to prosecute or otherwise punish officials who committed human rights abuses other than corruption,” it said. It added that impunity was a problem; there was an extremely limited number of prosecutions of security force members or officials for human rights abuses during the year.
It argued that impunity remained a serious problem, including impunity for killings and other violence against protesters.
The report further states that there were no public reports whether internal investigations of the federal police for possible abuses during the state of emergency (SOE) occurred. It reminded that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that stated in April last year that security forces used excessive force in some localities in Oromia and Amhara regions. It added that the commission did not publicly release its report.
The dossier also said that the government rarely publicly disclosed the results of investigations into abuses by local security forces, such as arbitrary detention and beatings of civilians.
It stated that authorities regularly detained persons arbitrarily, including protesters, journalists, and opposition party members. It quoted the local human right non-governmental organization report that it said the May Human Right Commission (HRCO) report stated authorities illegally detained 22,525 persons during the SOE.
The US report has also amplified its concern on the legal system in the country particularly in the criminal cases.
“The law provides for an independent judiciary. Although the civil courts operated with a large degree of independence, criminal courts remained weak and overburdened and subject to political influence,” it explained.
In its harsh report against the Ethiopian human right condition it has also stated that there were an unknown number of political prisoners and detainees at year’s end. “Throughout the year the government detained journalists, activists, and political opposition members, although not explicitly on political grounds. The most common charges against journalists, activists, or opposition politicians were terrorism via the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP), participation in a proscribed terrorist group, incitement, and outrage against the constitution or the constitutional order,” it added.
“Corruption, especially the solicitation of bribes, including police and judicial corruption, remained a problem,” the report added. “Some stakeholders believed government officials manipulated the land allocation process and state or party owned businesses received preferential access to land leases and credit. The law mandates that the federal attorney general investigate and prosecute corruption cases,” the report stated.
When the latest state of emergency was imposed in mid-February, the US was the first to oppose it. Such kind of criticism was not seen from the US, which is one of the major allies of the Ethiopian government.
US State Department slams Ethiopia’s human right conditions
Nearly 4,000 students drop out of schools in Oromia Special Zones
Going to work in factories near them, engage in domestic works, abduction and other harmful traditional practices let 3,862 students to drop their schools in Oromia Finfine Special Zones.
The schools which are found in the surrounding areas of Addis Ababa enroll 123,000 students and have 3,700 teachers. These schools are also hit by high teachers turnovers that leave their job for a better job in other parts of the country.
From the student who left there schools 2,043 of them are boys and the rest are girls and compared to the last fiscal year the number drops by 5.7 percent. The last fiscal year dropout rates were 8.9 percent.
Ferekia Kassahun, Head of Oromia Finnfine Special Zones Education bureau told capital that much work is needed to be done to decrease the dropout rates.
“Poverty, availability, and accessibility are three big reasons why children drop out of school,” says Ferekia. “When a family is not financially secure, prioritizing a child’s education takes a backseat. Distance to school is also another reason. Parents deem it unsafe for a child, especially girls, to travel far. This validated in dropout rates as well, which rise sharply after primary class.’’
“Failure to complete a basic cycle of primary school not only limit future opportunities for children but also represents a significant drain on the limited resources that the country have for the provision of primary education.’’
He further said more had to be done in providing proper education. “However, despite the noted milestone that have been achieved by the government, we are concerned with challenges being faced by children due to the economic hardship prevailing in some families, resulting in increased number of school dropouts, leading children in some instances to being forced into early marriages,”
He added that his bureau is working with stakeholders to raise the awareness of parents to reduce the dropout of students.
Six Woredas and one city administration are under Oromia Finfine Special Zones Education Bureau but lack of water, electricity, health facilities still hampers the operation of these schools.
Currently 294 primary, 19 elementary and 6 preparatory schools are operational in Oromia Finfine Special Zones.
One man’s rust, another man’s paint Tesfahun Kibru’s anticipated exhibition to open next week
Well known for his creation of sculptures using what many could consider trash, such as metal scraps and discarded plastic, Tesfahun Kibru is now set to bring art enthusiasts his new collection in an exhibition that is set to open on Friday, April 20, 2018.
Tesfahun will be featuring some new sculptures and painting at the exhibition, one he is holding after a long pause.
“All of the items that will be featured are new. I believe whenever I do an exhibition, I need to bring new works, I like challenging myself,” he told Capital. Rust plays a major role in creating his new paintings that are planned to be featured at the exhibition.
“I wanted to experiment with rust; use it as paint. I work with a lot of metal scrap and I wanted to use every bit of those scraps,” he says.
Growing up, Tesfahun says he found school difficult, even though he did manage to finish 12th grade and then join Addis Ababa University’s art school. “As kids of course we go to school, we all take the same path to education because we are in the same system. The system doesn’t really promote independent thinking or free expression; it doesn’t really enable individuals to explore the purpose of their existence.”
“To discover my interest in arts and explore my creative side, I had to take the long road. Sure there were drawing classes, arts and crafts classes and so on; those are more fun for children than the regular academic subjects. I found the regular subjects difficult and I didn’t like them, but taking those classes was mandatory, everyone had to go,” he says.
One primary reason he got into contemporary art, was because he spent a lot of time alone and that enabled him to interact with his own thoughts. He says he became interested in sculpting from watching his grandfather who was a carpenter. “I think I was influenced by that; watching him work with his hands,” he says.
Tesfahun is one of the 11 founding member of Netsa Arts Village, which was established in 2008 inside the Ferensay Park. The aim of the village was promoting contemporary art in Ethiopia and giving emerging artists a platform for exchange, discussion and debate on all issues related to art; to stimulate the quality, development and context of contemporary art practice in the country.
While Netsa Arts Village is no longer at Ferensay Park, part of its concept still exists in a space located in Sebeta, inside the Goma Kuteba factory; a space where Tesfahun and other artists work from.
“The idea with Netsa was to enable different artists to express themselves in a space that is free and without pre-set judgment of what art is,” Tesfahun says.
Speaking about the process he goes through to create his work; especially the sculptures, Tesfahun says that usually he builds up on an idea slowly until it evolves into something expressive. “I don’t necessarily have a clear picture of what I am creating. I start something and I follow what the piece tells me, I look at the different pictures it gives me and I add on that until it makes sense to me,” he said.
Tesfahun acknowledges that there are many that don’t get his work but there is always an effort. “ It all comes down to what the standard of beauty and art is; there is always a protocol and that is what people are used to and by bringing my work for public viewing, that is what I want to challenge. To understand new or different things, people need to take their time,” he said.
Besides creating his contemporary artistic expression pieces, Tesfahun is also venturing into clothing and accessory designing. “It is something that I have wanted to do and I hope to focus more on now. I want to create a line; clothing and shoe line, that expresses who I am and hopefully that could be an outlet of expression of others too. I am working on it and I hope to put some products to the market soon,” he says.
Tesfahun Kibru’s upcoming exhibition will be one that will feature new ways of expressions. It will be held at Yucca House, located in Bole Rwanda. The art works will be displayed for three weeks starting April 20.
Tackling unemployment one solution at a time
Unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing youth in Ethiopia. While finding a job for those who don’t have high school or college certificates is very difficult, the situation for most university graduates also remains very perilous. One of the biggest reasons for the high unemployment rate in Ethiopia is because there are not enough jobs available, and the fact that eligible youth don’t acquire the required soft skills to enhance the job searching process after graduating. Capital spoke to Siham Ayele, Project Manager at Dereja.com, an online platform created to help people find jobs; about the current unemployment situation in Ethiopia and what these platforms do to address the challenges.
Capital: Tell us a bit about Dereja and how it was initiated.
Siham Ayele: Dereja.com was initiated to address the gaps the exist in youth employment and employability and to support and serve as a platform for students, fresh graduates and junior level professionals by providing employability trainings (soft skill and job readiness), resources and job/internship opportunities, job fairs, establishment of Career Centers across Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions as well as initiating discussions and dialogues among stakeholders about how to support the students in their transition from school to work.
Dereja has been established within the operations of ethiojobs.net a human resource and recruitment company that has 20 years of experience in the country.
Capital: What is the major issue you currently see in the job market for the youth?
Siham: Students graduate from the university without being equipped with employability skills that most employers are looking for. They basically lack the soft skills, job search techniques, interview preparation and CV writing ability.
They come out from the university without proper guidance about what the professional world looks like and they have unrealistic expectations and views. Furthermore employers tend to hire more experienced people and look over fresh graduates. It is possible to groom young employees into future leaders. We also do not have significant research on the labor market which creates a huge mismatch in employment.
Capital: What are some of the basic things young people lack to land a good job?
Siham: The majority of graduating students lack soft skills, practical skills, job search and communication skills in order to fully thrive in any competitive market. These skills need to be taught while in they are in the university not after they graduate. Luckily these are the reasons career centers have been established in universities.
Capital: Do you think the education system in higher educational institutions prepares students adequately for the job market?
Siham: No, it does not, the education system for so long has been focused on concepts and theories. I have high hopes for the career centers to change this.
Capital: What would you say is the major reason for high youth unemployment?
Siham: Ethiopia’s population is mainly young and every year we get about 200,000 fresh graduates ready to be employed and their number isn’t being matched by the amount of jobs available. The skills acquired by the students aren’t answering to the demands of employers.
Capital: Tell us a bit about the career expo that will be held in October.
Siham: The National Career Expo is being organized and supported by the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and Dereja. This Expo will serve as a platform to connect the fresh graduates with employers face to face. The Expo will have a series of workshops and sessions to give fresh graduates a glimpse of what the professional world looks like and employers what fresh graduates can bring to the table. This Expo will also hold a conference where it attempts to bring together policy makers, different stakeholders and HR practitioners to discuss the next steps regarding youth employment and what actions need to be taken.
Capital: What has been the previous impact of these type of expos?
Siham: Expos like this have been organized before but this is the first ever expo that only targets fresh graduates. By creating such a platform where job seekers and employers can meet face to face, it gives an opportunity for students to express themselves, how they are a fit for the job and how they stand out from the commotion. This recruitment platform also encourages fresh graduates to network as that is often overlooked by them and can sometimes be seen as nepotism.
Capital: What kind of support do you think the government should provide?
Siham: It is crucial that the government should encourage initiatives like these and work on the issue on multiple levels starting from high school and also make career development as part of their strategy as merely placing people in jobs doesn’t guarantee a long-term solution. Based on this year’s experience, we trust that the government and the different ministries will take initiation to organize this expo yearly.
Capital: If you can, give us some simple tips on how to attract employment.
Siham: I don’t believe that you attract employment. It is more about positioning yourself as the right fit for the right job. I strongly urge fresh graduates to first look within themselves and honestly review what they can actually bring to the table and find jobs based on that.
I believe that fresh graduates shouldn’t fear the interview space if they come prepared though understanding the job and the company itself and by matching that with their much-needed skillset. Also, it is important to let the company know who you are as much as what you can do.
Capital: would you say are some of the common mistakes people make when searching for jobs?
Siham: Usually it starts from how you write your CV. People also suffer from a lack of interview skills as well as communication skills, and not demonstrating motivation or a good attitude.
