Human rights in Ethiopia to face scrutiny by UN treaty body

GENEVA – The human rights record of Ethiopia will for the first time face the scrutiny of the United Nations Human Rights Committee on Monday, in a meeting that will be webcast live on the Internet.

As one of the 167 state parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is one of the primary international human rights treaties, Ethiopia is required to undergo regular examinations of its human rights record before the Human Rights Committee. This will be the first ever appearance of Ethiopia before the Committee.

In meetings which will take place on Monday, 11 July, from 15h00 to 18h00 and Tuesday, 12 July from 10h00 to 18h00 Geneva time (please replace with local time), the Committee, which is composed of 18 independent experts, will engage in a dialogue with the delegation of Ethiopia on questions relating to the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

The Government of Ethiopia has already submitted a State report on implementation of its human rights obligations to the Committee and a number of non-governmental organisations have also sent reports for the Committee’s consideration.

A live webcast of the session can be viewed on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/un-human-rights-committee.

The concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on Ethiopia will be made available on 29 July on: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/hrcs102.htm, after which interviews can be arranged with Committee members

To learn more about the Human Rights Committee, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/index.htm

To learn more about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

For additional information and media requests, please contact:
In Addis Ababa:
In Geneva: Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Xabier Celaya (+41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org) 

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