Chapter Three: Understanding Citizenship: Ethiopian Focus

Chapter Introduction
Dear learners, this chapter basically tries to discuss the fundamentals of citizenship.
These include, firstly the definition and dimensions (political, social, economic, cultural,
etc.) of citizenship. Secondly, philosophical discourses on citizenship, which includes
the liberal, republican and communitarian discourse on citizenship will be discussed.
And lastly the chapter tries to discuss the modes/ways of acquiring and loosing
citizenship in general and in particular reference to Ethiopian nationality law and
proclamation.

Chapter Objective
Upon the copulation of the chapter you will be able to:
 Define the concept of Citizen and Citizenship;
 Discus the major domains of citizenship;
 Examine certain philosophical discourses on citizenship and;
 Know the different modes of acquiring and loosing citizenship generally and in the
case of Ethiopia Particularly.

3.1. Meaning of Citizen and Citizenship

The term ‘citizen’ may be defined as an individual who is a legally recognized member
of a given state. A ‘citizen’ is a legal member of a political community, which is defined
by a set of rights and obligations. As citizens of the state, they exercise certain rights and
privileges, which those that are not citizens may not exercise. For instances, the right to
vote, getting social services, and protection by the state. At the same time, the state also
expects certain duties and responsibilities from its own citizens. The state also obliges its
citizens to obey its law, to provide public service through their skill and professional
ability, to provide armed services in defending its sovereignty, to participate in
economic, social and political activities, etc.
Citizenship represents a relationship between the individual and the state, in which the
two are bound together by reciprocal rights and obligations. All citizens are endowed
with fundamental rights and privileges on the one hand, and entrusted with certain
responsibilities and obligations. Citizenship refers to the tie or relation of individuality
is used to show a membership in a certain nation or citizenship means a legal bond
between a person and a state. Citizenship is a politico-legal status and an identity.
Although the idea of ‘citizenship’ indicates belonging to a given state; citizenship in all
states is not the same. Members of various states may have differing status, rights and
privileges depending on the nature of the states and their governments. In other words,
individuals in all states may not be ‘citizens’. In some states they may be ‘subjects’
rather than ‘citizens’. In simple terms, ‘citizen’ implies that all citizens have equal rights,
privileges and responsibilities before the law. That is some citizens may not have
superior rights over the others. This, particularly, is the case with states having the
experience of a democratic and constitutional practice. In contrary, states with
authoritarian and dictatorial practice have subjects. In such states, all individuals of the
state do not have equal legal rights and privileges.

3.2 Dimension of Citizenship

The concept of citizenship is composed of four main elements or dimensions. Scholars

agreed that, we can identify at least four major domains/aspects which constitutes of
citizenship. These include: civil, political, socio-economic, and cultural or collective
aspects. These domains of modern citizenship are dynamic and inter-connected in a
complex interaction within a global context.
1. The Civil Dimension of Citizenship: Refers to a way of life where citizens define
and pursue commonly held goals related to democratic conceptions of society. It
inscribes fundamental community values, the limits of governmental decision making
in relation to the individual citizen, and the rights of private interest groups and
associations. It includes freedom of speech, expression and equality before the law, as
well as the freedom of association and access to information. Its rights are those
“necessary to individual freedom—liberty of the person, freedom of thought, speech
and faith, the right to own property and to conclude valid contracts and the right to
justice.”
2. The Political Dimension of Citizenship: It involves the right to vote and political
participations. Free elections are the key to this dimension of citizenship, as it is the
right to freely seek political office. In other words, political citizenship refers to political
rights and duties of citizens with respect to the political system. It is the result of
progresses in the nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. Political rights caught up
with civil rights by means of reforms. The right to vote came to working people and to
women.
3. The Socio-Economic Dimension of Citizenship: This refers to the relationship
between individuals in a societal context and to the rights of participating in the
economic activities. The definition of social and economic rights includes the rights to
economic well-being, for example, the right to social security, to work, to minimum
means of subsistence and to a safe environment. Social citizenship refers to the relations
between individuals in a society and demands loyalty and solidarity. Economic
citizenship is also another aspect of citizenship which refers to the relation of an
individual towards the labor and consumer market and implies the right to work and to
a minimum subsistence level.
4. The Cultural Dimension of Citizenship: It refers to the manner in which societies
take into account the increasing cultural diversity in societies, diversity due to a greater
openness to other cultures, to global migration and to increased mobility. This
dimension of citizenship refers to awareness of a common cultural heritage. This
component includes the quest for recognition of collective rights for minorities. The
culture- state relationship is based upon human rights which recognize an
anthropological dimension of a person, and which imply a certain conception of human
beings, their dignity, and the affirmation of legal equality against all forms of
discrimination on the basis of membership in a particular group.
 3.3 Philosophical Discourses on Citizenship

There are various philosophical discourses on citizenship. There are three perspectives
that emerged in political theory that advances a specific conception of citizenship:
liberalism, communitarianism and civic republicanism. Although this debate has
become familiar; it maps out the terrain rather uneasily because many scholars do not
exactly fit into these categories. Who considers himself a liberal, may be considered a
radical, given his insistence on group rights. It is, therefore, more appropriate to think
these perspectives as ideal types rather than watertight categories to which we can
assign scholars. Each discourse has its own views on individual state relationships
which are discussed below.
1. Liberal Citizenship: What is liberalism? It is a political philosophy founded on the
ideas of liberty and equality- it is about free and fair elections, civil rights, freedom of
the press, freedom of religion, free trade, and a right to life, liberty, and property of
individuals. Therefore, Liberal citizenship is a distinct conception and
institutionalization of citizenship whose primary value is to maximize individual liberty
and equality. The liberal theory begins with the individual. Its view of the individual
also shapes its views of all other social aggregations, including the state.
In general the primacy of individual liberty understood primarily as freedom from state
interference with one’s personal development and projects; a very broad protection of
freedom of inquiry, speech, and worship; a deep suspicion of state power over
individuals; the restriction of state coercion to those areas of activity in which
individuals’ conduct affects others; and a strong though rebuttable presumption in
favor of privacy, markets, and other forms of private ordering. Although there are
variations of liberalism, they have a common objective: that is that the constitutional
state should uphold private property and a competitive market economy as the central
mechanisms to coordinate the interests of citizens.
2. Communitarian Citizenship: According to communitarians view, citizenship is
rooted in a culturally defined community, and therefore political community is the
derivative of its members, who are always individuals. The assumption in the
communitarian conception of citizenship is that community provides a cultural
foundation for citizenship. For communitarians, citizenship is about participation in the
political community but it is also about the preservation of identity, and therefore
citizenship is always specific to a particular community.
While liberalism advances a model of the self-regarding individual protecting and
advancing his or her interests, communitarianism claims that individuals are situated
and embedded and thus not isolated and independent. In other words,
communitarianism adheres to a strong view of community. Communitarians argue that
the identity of citizens cannot be understood outside the territory in which they live,
their culture and traditions, arguing that the basis of its rules and procedures and legal
policy is the shared common good. The political subject, above all, belongs to a
community, a community to which he owes allegiance and commitment. As a result, the
good of the Community is much above individual rights. In this sense, there is a
resounding rejection of state neutrality. Therefore, the State must provide a policy for
the common good, according to the way of life of the community.
3. Republican Citizenship: Republic is a form of government that derives its powers
directly or indirectly from the people. In a republic, the government of a state is a public
matter, and the people rule themselves. Therefore, publicity and self-government are
central in the study of republican citizenship. Publicity -the condition of being open and
public rather than private or personal - and self-government is the essential elements of
republicanism by which individuals should make their decisions by their own.
Republican citizenship has an ethical as well as a legal dimension. Citizenship may be a
matter of legal status that confers various privileges and immunities on the citizen.
Accordingly, real citizenship requires commitment to the common good and active
participation in public affairs. It requires civic virtue. The citizen of a community
governed by the rule of law must be someone who holds the legal rights and duties of
membership. This is to say that citizens not only enjoy the protection of its laws but is
also subject to them. It is also to say that, as a citizen, it is supposed to be on an equal
footing with other citizens. If they are not treated equally under the law, then they may
rightly complain of being a ‘second-class citizen’. In these respects, legal status is
necessary to the republican conception of citizenship.
Republicans criticize both claims of liberalism, which argues for the virtues of the
individual, and communitarian claims of group identity and pluralism. Therefore, to
recover a coherent idea of citizenship we must go back to older categories of political
thought. They further argue that both approaches undermine citizenship, the former
because it conflates (mix) ethnic and civic identity, the latter because its extreme
pluralism does not leave any room for common identity. Republicans put forth a third
theoretical perspective, which they believe overcomes the flaws of liberalism and
communitarianism. Civic republicanism advocates a concept of citizenship that is
neither individualist nor collectivist, and makes a clear distinction between civic
identity and ethnic identity.
Its (civic republicanism) main focus is the conception of man as citizen, that is, "as
someone that understands himself in relation to the city, believing that the guarantee of
liberty lies in the commitment to the republican institutions in meeting their duties to
the community. From this perspective, there are discrepancies with liberalism as the
republican model is not individualistic, but this autonomy relates to participation in
public life and does not conceive the role of politics and institutions as mere
instruments.
Republicans attach much value to the political institutions because they feel that they
are a means to develop autonomy, which is why they link freedom to citizenship. The
idea that republicans have of democracy is deliberative, where citizens have a voice,
ability to think and participate actively; thus power is not oligarchy, but the rulers are
held accountable to their citizens.

3.4. Modes of Acquiring and Loosing Citizenship

3.4.1. Modes of Acquiring Citizenship
Nations have various laws that govern the granting of citizenship. The process of
acquiring citizenship varies indifferent countries depending upon the specific laws of
each country. There is no clear uniformity. However, each state has the right to
determine who its citizens are and who are not, according to its own law.
1. Citizenship by Birth: It is a natural aspect of acquiring citizenship; because it is
obtained through birth. This implies that citizenship obtained by birth does not involve
social and political requirements. Since person’s citizenship is determined by birth,
there is no dispute about his/her citizenship rights. It is also called involuntary way of
acquiring citizenship. Acquisition of citizenship by birth takes place in either of the
following rules (in practice, states rarely use strictly one principle. They employ both
principles in granting citizenship).
1. Jus Soli (a Latin word, which means the law of soil). Citizenship is granted due to
birth within the country. The legal term for this is "jus Solis." According to this rule,
citizenship is decided by place of birth. That means, any person who is born within the
sovereign territory of a particular state is considered as a citizen of that state except
children’s of diplomat. This rule works not only for a child born in areas where the flag
of that state raised, but also on public ships, on public airbuses, and others. According
to this rule, only the birth of individuals on the soil of a state is regarded as a sufficient
criterion to create the bond of citizenship irrespective of parent’s allegiance. According
to this rule, wherever the parents come from, the place of birth determines the status of
citizenship of their children.
Citizenship by birth does not mean that any child born within the territory of the state
becomes a citizen. For example, a child is not a citizen by place of birth if born from
foreign diplomatic within the territory of that state, on public ships in the territorial
waters of that state such a rule is more or less universally accepted in the 1930 Hague
convention and the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. The U.S.A. and
Britain, most other common wealth countries, and most Latin American countries are
some of the examples that use the rules of Jus soli. This means that any person born
within the territories of these countries will be citizen of these countries. A man born on
the soil of America will be an American citizen; a man born on the soil of Britain is
British citizen, and so on.
2. Jus Sanguineous (Jus sanguineous; law of the blood). Citizenship of a nation is
passed on to a child based upon at least one of the parents being a citizen of that nation,
regardless of the child's actual country of birth. The term for this is "jus sanguineous."
The citizenship of one’s parents and ancestors is the determining factor for acquisition
of citizenship. That means, a child is required to his/her parents’ citizenship. Off
course, there exist some differences between states in applying this rule. Some states
may require both parents of a child to become their citizen. Others may require at least
one of the parents of a child to become their citizen. Some states provide the citizenship
of the mother and the father of a child as important and Some states provide the
citizenship of the mother and the father of a child as equally important (For example
Ethiopia).
2. Citizenship by Naturalization: Naturalization is the alternative method of acquiring
citizenship after birth. It can be defined as a process by which a state confers (gives) its
citizenship on an individual, who is originally not its citizen, as a result of some
voluntary acts and intentions of the individual. Naturalization, therefore, is purely
under the authority of the state. As a result, the person to be naturalized should satisfy
the specific criteria set by the particular state into which he wishes to be a citizen. In
other words, the term naturalization means granting a new citizenship to an alien
person. There are a number of ways of granting citizenship by naturalization. The most
common ones include:
1. Marriage: Naturalization through marriage occurs when an alien or a foreigner
engages into a marriage contract with a citizen of a given state. This means the
individual marrying the citizen of that state assumes the citizenship of his/her partner.
For example, a woman would be automatically naturalized upon mixed marriage to
citizen of a given state and would acquire the citizenship of her husband.
2. Legitimization: This is a process by which stateless children are legitimized or legally
acquire citizenship through parenthood or guardianship to citizens of that state.
3. Application: The third method of naturalization involves a direct application of a
foreign individual seeking citizenship in a given state. In this method, the person may
be naturalized by his/her own initiative through application or registration. Here, the
individual approaches the appropriate authority of that state. But, any applicant may
not be naturalized. An applicant has to fulfill certain minimum requirements. Thus,
citizenship will be granted only when the individual satisfies the requirements.
Requirements may vary from country to country. Among the requirements, the most
common ones are: lawful entry for permanent residence, good moral character, and a
certain minimum years of residence in the country, an adult age, and non-criminal and
may include the ability to read, write and speak their national language (the national
language of the country where the nationality is being asked). The final decision is
given by the government of the state.
3. Citizenship by Political Case: This third alternative to acquire citizenship status.
1. By Force: Occupied state individuals are forced to acquire conquering state
citizenship. This has been the case for many states.
2. By Voluntary Process (Cession): Due to willful merger of one state with another
state, people of state which decided to join another state will get citizenship of that
state. People of Louisiana decided to join USA in1803 from France. Saar valley voted
through plebiscites to join Germany in 1934-35.
3. Citizenship by Re-integration/Restoration: This is a system whereby a person who
had lost citizenship of a state due to certain reasons can get back citizenship on fulfilling
conditions laid down.
4. Citizenship by Option: This takes place due to voluntary partitions or exchange of
territories. In such cases, residents are given the option to choose the citizenship of one
of the two states. This is a modern development due to the direct participation of the
inhabitants in their status of citizenship. In voluntary partition, cession or exchange of
territories option is given to the inhabitants to choose only the citizenship of one state.
Example, when the territory of India was divided into Pakistan and India.

3.4.2 Modes of Loosing Citizenship

The common modes of loosing citizenship are:
Renunciation (Expatriation): Dropping one’s own citizenship voluntary and
deliberately. This happens either when a person gives up previous citizenship because
of being naturalized in another country or harassment and state ideologies personal
dislikes.
Deprivation: Legal deprivation (disallowance) of citizenship because of proven guilty
and committing serious crimes against the state law and sovereignty. This takes place
when a person commits serious crimes against the state such as exposing the secrets of
his own country to alien forces, siding enemy forces in times of war and Carrying out
diplomatic, economic, political and military intelligence for another state within own
state. But according to the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation of 2003, article 17; no
Ethiopian may be deprived of his nationality by the decision of any government
authority unless he/she loses his/her Ethiopian nationality under article 19 or 20 of the
proclamation.
Lapse: Citizenship can be lost if the citizen stays outsides his/her country for a long
period of time. For example, according to the Indian nationality law, if an Indian stays
outside his/her country continuously for more than seven years, the person will lose
his/her Indian citizenship by the principle of lapse. According to the amended
Ethiopian Nationality proclamation of 2003, the principle of lapse has no application in
Ethiopia.
Substitution: This happens if naturalization substitute’s original citizenship or state is
conquered by another state and conquered territory citizenship replaced by conqueror
citizenship. Citizenship may be lost when the original citizenship is substituted by
another state, where it is acquired through naturalization. According to the Ethiopian
amended Nationality proclamation of 2003, article 20, Ethiopian nationality can be lost
upon the acquisition of other nationality. On the other side, this may also take place
when a particular territory is annexed by another state; the inhabitants’ citizenship
within the annexed territory will be replaced by the citizenship of the subjugator.

3.5 Dual citizenship and statelessness

3.5. 1. Dual Citizenship
Dual citizenship is the simultaneous possession of two citizenships. It arises because
there is no common international law relating to citizenship. The most common reasons
for dual citizenship are these:
 Marriage to a citizen of another country.
 Adoption by parents who are citizens of another country.
 Birth in a country that grants citizenship by birth, to parents who are Citizens of a
country that grants citizenship by descent.
Dual citizenship is the result of conflict of citizenship laws of different states. A person
sometimes holds dual citizenship concurrently under different conditions. The first is
the condition under which two countries have conflicting rules of jus soli and jus
sanguineous. This means that a person born in a state applying jus soli to parents who
are citizens of another state applying jus sanguineous is a citizen of each state by his
own laws.
Another condition under which individuals hold two/dual citizenship at the same time
is the collision between the jus sanguineous laws in countries. If a child is born to
parents who are citizens of different state applying jus sanguineous, he/she is the
national of each state through his mother and his father. For instance, if an Ethiopian
woman marries Egyptian man, and if Ethiopia and Egypt apply the same rule, jus
sanguineous, a child born to that Ethiopian woman and Egyptian man will be the
citizen of both Ethiopia and Egypt through his mother and father, respectively. Assume
that the birth place of this child was in USA, and then this child would have three
nationalities; the citizenship of Ethiopia through his mother the citizenship of Egypt
through his father, and the citizenship of USA through rule of jus soli. This condition is
considered as multiple citizenships.
What types of dual citizenship are there? There are different types of dual citizenship.
Some of them are the following:
Dual Citizenship by Birth: A child born abroad to United States citizens Will acquire
not only United States citizenship but perhaps the citizenship of the country in which
the child was born (jus solis). Similarly, a child born in the United States to foreign
parents may acquire both U.S. citizenship (jus Solis) and the citizenship of the parents
(jus sanguineous).
Dual Citizenship by Marriage: Dual citizenship can occur when a person automatically
acquires their spouse's citizenship upon marriage. Some countries provide that
citizenship will be lost upon the voluntary acquisition of another citizenship. In the case
of citizenship by marriage, some nations consider that, simply by marriage, their citizen
did not voluntarily acquire the foreign citizenship and that, therefore, their original
citizenship is not lost.
Dual Citizenship by Naturalization: A country may allow citizens who obtain foreign
citizenship to retain their original citizenship. The country from which the person is
obtaining their second citizenship may not require the person to renounce their former
citizenship.
Dual Citizenship by Default: A person naturalized elsewhere without the approval of
the country of origin might be considered to retain their original citizenship. If the
original country is not notified that another citizenship has been acquired, it is possible
for both citizenships to be officially documented.
What problems do you expect from dual citizenship? Dual citizenship is not
particularly desirable in many countries because a dual citizen is sometimes placed in a
situation in which their obligation to the country is in conflict with the laws of the other
country. An example is the problem of conflicting military obligations. In addition, a
person's dual citizenship may hamper efforts to provide diplomatic or consular
protection when the person is abroad. The majority of countries do not recognize dual
citizenship. That is, their Governments do not recognize a person’s prerogative to the
rights, privileges, or Immunities that may be the prerogatives of citizens of the other
nation.
3.5.2 Statelessness

Statelessness is lack of citizenship. It means deprivation or loss of citizenship to an

individual who has not become a national of any other country. It is loss of citizenship
without corresponding acquisition of a new one. In order to understand statelessness
clearly, understanding two concepts is essential. These two concepts are de facto and de
jure. De facto is Latin word which means legal, or true. There are de facto stateless
persons and de jure stateless persons.
Defacto Stateless: Are persons who have citizenship but do not give them protection
outside their own country. These individuals have temporarily been displaced from
their own home country and living in another country. This category includes
individuals commonly referred to as refugees. Defacto stateless persons are many in
number in our world. Defacto statelessness has become a common problem in the
world today in terms of human misery and numbers.
Dejure Stateless: Are individuals who have been deprived of citizenship by their own
government. These are individuals whose citizenship is removed from them by their
own government. As compared to defacto stateless persons, dejure stateless persons are
quite rare. However, dejure stateless persons appeared on a massive scale during the
Russian civil war (1918-21), and during the Nazi regime in Germany.

3.6 Overview of Citizenship and Nationality laws in Ethiopia: Emphasis on

nationality proclamation
In Ethiopia citizenship law was first enacted in 1930. Prior to that, the issue of
citizenship by and large was regulated by custom and tradition. Even if there was no
formal law, individuals strongly identified themselves with the state. Nevertheless, the
status of citizenship was more of subjects than citizens. Acquiring of citizenship was
conferred to various nations, nationalities and peoples due to their integration in to the
Ethiopian state.
As mentioned above, citizenship law of Ethiopia was first issued on July 22, 1930 and
amended on October 5, 1932. Moreover, the 1995 Ethiopian constitution (F.D.R.E
constitution) stipulates some important principles with regard to citizenship in
Ethiopia. It could be said that both are generally similar to each other. However, few
departures or changes are made in the 1995 constitution. In order to help you identify
the similarity and difference between them, each of them are discussed as below.

3.6.1 The 1930 Citizenship Law of Ethiopia

The Ethiopian law of nationality (citizenship), which is still in force, was issued on July
22, 1930, and amended on October 5; 1932.This law is based on the general principle of
jus sanguinis. Unlike jus soli, which awards the status of nationality by birthplace
irrespective of the nationality of one's parents, the principle of jus sanguinis gives a
child the nationality of his parents, irrespective of his or her birthplace. On the basis of
the principle of jus sanguinis, Ethiopian law provides that ‘any person born in Ethiopia
or abroad, whose father or mother is Ethiopian, is an Ethiopian.’ This general principle
is however, qualified. (There are exceptions).
The first qualification provides that every child born in a lawful mixed marriage follows
the nationality of the father. The second qualification stipulates that the child
legitimated through subsequent marriage follows the nationality of his/her foreign
father only on condition that the nationality law of the father confers upon him the
foreign nationality with all inherent rights. Otherwise, the child preserves his/her
Ethiopian nationality.
Loss of Ethiopian nationality occurs when:
a) An Ethiopian woman contracts a lawful marriage with a foreigner and acquires
her husband's nationality.
b) a child born in a lawful marriage between an Ethiopian female and a foreigner
follows the nationality of the father, and
c) An Ethiopian subject changes his nationality and acquires foreign nationality.
However, an Ethiopian woman who married a foreigner, if the law of the country of
which her husband is a national does not entitle her to the nationality of her husband
may retain Ethiopian nationality. A child born outside wedlock where his parents
subsequently marry if the national law of the child's father does not confer upon him
his father's nationality with all its inherent rights may also retain Ethiopian nationality.
Acknowledgement of paternity of a child born from an Ethiopian mother by a father
who is a foreigner deprives the child of his Ethiopia nationality only if the child can
acquire his father's nationality with all its inherent rights.
Adoption of an Ethiopian child by a foreign national made in accordance to the national
law of the adopting person does not cause a change of the adopted child's original
nationality. A woman who had lost her Ethiopian nationality by marriage to a
foreigner may recover it after the dissolution of the marriage by reason of divorce,
separation or death of her husband, if she returns to reside in Ethiopia, although for a
limited time, she may be stateless under such circumstances. Any person who had lost
his Ethiopian nationality may recover it when he/she returns to reside in Ethiopia. A
foreigner may acquire Ethiopian nationality if he:
a) Has attained the age of majority according to the law of his/her country;
b) Has lived at least for five years in Ethiopia;
c) Can earn his/her living (for himself and his family);
d) Can read and write the Amharic language; and
e) Produces evidence to the effect that he/she has not been previously convicted of
a crime.
Notwithstanding non-compliance with the five-year residence requirement, the
Ethiopian Government may, pursuant to the October 5,1932, amendment, accord
Ethiopian nationality to a foreign applicant, if he is deemed to be useful to the country
or if there are some special reasons for granting it to him.
Thus, the Ethiopian law of nationality by prescribing the exclusive determining factors
under which Ethiopian nationality can be acquired and lost has minimized the
instances in which problems of statelessness and dual (multi) nationality may occur.
3.6.2 Citizenship and the Constitution (1987)
The PDRE constitution of Ethiopia (1987) in its 6 th chapter dealt with citizenship issues.
In Art.31 glossily provided that “Any person with both or one parent of Ethiopian
citizenship is an Ethiopian” In Article 33 the same constitution provided that “The
Peoples’ Democratic of Ethiopia grants asylum to foreigners persecuted for their
struggle in national liberation and anti racist movements and for the cause of peace and
democracy” Other citizenship issues were left open to be decided by law
3.6.3 Citizenship and the Constitution (1995) of Ethiopia
The laws of citizenship in Ethiopian begin from the constitution. What does the
Constitution say about citizenship? Article 6 the Constitution of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia declares that ‘any person of either sex shall be an Ethiopian
national where both or either parent is Ethiopian.’ So the constitution enshrines the
principle of jus sanguins is if a child is born to an Ethiopian mother or an Ethiopian
father, he/she is an Ethiopian respective of where he is born. The Constitution also
provides for naturalization in general terms.
The particular or the details of nationality laws of Ethiopia are legislated in the
Ethiopian Nationality Proclamation No. 378/2003. In this proclamation (article 3) the
principle of nationality by descent is provided- ‘Any person shall be an Ethiopian
national by descent where both or either of his parent is Ethiopian. In addition, any
infant who is found abandoned in Ethiopia shall be deemed to have been born to an
Ethiopian parent and shall acquire Ethiopian nationality. But if is proved the infant has
a foreign nationality like by proving that his parents are foreigners he shall not acquired
Ethiopian nationality automatically.
In this proclamation a person may acquire nationality by law that is naturalization. A
person can become a naturalized – citizen- of Ethiopia through many- ways the
application must be made to the National Affairs Committee that shall provide its
recommendation to the Security, immigration and Refugee Affairs Authority which
shall have the power to give decision to accord nationality.
1. By Application: Any foreigner may apply to get Ethiopian nationality where the
foreigner applies to obtain Ethiopian nationality; he shall fulfill the following
requirements.
 He must have attained the age of majority and be legally capable under
the Ethiopian law.
 He must have established his domicile (permanent residence) in Ethiopia
and have lived in Ethiopia for a total of at least four years preceding the
submission of his application.
 He must be able to communicate in any one of the languages of the
Country.
 He must have sufficient and lawful source of income to maintain himself
and his family.
 He must be a person of good character.
 He must have no record of criminal conviction,
 He must be able to show that he has been released from his previous
nationality or the possibility of obtaining such a release up on the acquaint
 of Ethiopian nationality or that he is a stateless person (this is to avoid
dual nationality) and;
 He must be required to take the oath of allegiance.
2. By Marriage: A foreigner who is married to an Ethiopian national may acquire
Ethiopian nationality by the marriage if it is lawful marriage;
 The marriage has stayed for at least two years:
 The applicant for the nationality has lived for at least a year before
application to the Ethiopia nationality,
 He must be of age and legally capable
 He is released from his nationality or is to be soon released or is a stateless
person (this is to avoid dual nationality)
3. By Adoption: A child adopted by Ethiopian national may acquire Ethiopian
nationality by law if:
 The child has not attained the age of majority.
 The child lives in Ethiopian together with his adopting parent
 Where one of his adopting parents is a foreigner such parent had
expressed his consent in writing and;
 Where he is released from his previous nationality, or where he will be
released from his previous nationality when he obtains the Ethiopian
nationality, or where he is stateless. (Reason this is to avoid dual
nationality).
4. Outstanding Contribution: A foreigner who has made outstanding contribution to
the interest of the country may acquire Ethiopian nationality although he has not lived
in Ethiopian or does not speak either of the Ethiopian languages.
Note that where a person wants to acquire nationality on the basis of naturalization, he
must take, with the exception of naturalization of an adopted child, an oath of
allegiance which states, ‘I… solemnly affirm that I will be a loyal national of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopian and be faithful to its Constitution.’

Chapter Four: Constitution, Democracy and Human Rights

Chapter Introduction
Dear learners, this chapter is about the fundamentals of constitution, democracy and
human rights. In the modern period, states usually govern their societies according to
certain sets of laws and rules. The laws of the state are binding up on all members of the
society. As government is the brain and soul of the state, governments are supposed to
make laws on the behalf of their states. Among the various laws of a state, constitution
is the fundamental one. Therefore, this chapter tries to assess the fundamentals of
constitution and constitutionalism, democracy and human rights.

Chapter Objective
At the end of the chapter students will be able to:
 Know the concepts of constitution and constitutionalism;
  Explain the purposes and functions of a constitution of a state;
 Gain knowledge about the fundamental values and principles of democracy as
well as the different approach for understanding democracy;
 Identify the unique features of human rights and different human right
instrument;
 Explore Ethiopia’s experience on constitution, human rights and democracy
4.1. Constitution
4.1.1. Definitions of Constitution and Constitutionalism
Constitution is the fundamental/basic law of a state, constituting of: (a) the
organization of the government, (b) the powers and functions of the principal
government organs and agencies, (c) the restraints on the extent of and methods of
exercising these powers, (d) the relationship between the government and the people,
and (e) the basic political principles that should be followed. Or it is a body of laws and
rules, that determine the organization of government, the distribution of powers and
functions to various organs of a government, regulate the relationship between these
organs, the relationship between the state and the individuals (citizens), and the general
principle on which these powers are to be exercised.
Constitutionalism is the doctrine that governments should be faithful to their
constitutions. This is because; the rules and laws so provided all that can protect
citizens’ rights from arbitrary actions and decisions of the government. In other words
Constitutionalism is the belief that constitution of a state is the best arrangement of
things and activities in a society. Again, it is a state of being subject to limitations and
that operates in accordance with the general rules and laws rather than arbitrary.
4.1.2. Purposes and Functions of Constitution
The main purpose of a constitution of state is limiting/restraining the powers and
authorities of a government, determine the structures and functions of a government,
outlines the rights and duties of citizens and their relations with their state, ensuring
and safeguarding the rights of citizens, etc. Generally, the constitution of state has the
following basic purposes and functions.
A Framework of a State: A constitution of a state sets out the principles and values
upon which the state is organized and governed. The ideals and aspirations provide the
country with direction and a vision for the future, and prescribe the legitimate purposes
or interest which state power is to be used.
 Limiting the powers of a government: A constitution provides a foundation for
orderly government by defining and limiting the powers of government agencies. It
establishes checks and balances within the main branches of government (the Executive,
Legislature and Judiciary), through the doctrine of separation of powers. A constitution
establishes government based on the rule of law and which is limited by law.
Gives Guarantee for the human and democratic rights of individuals: It safeguards
the basic rights and freedoms of the people by incorporating a Bill of Rights, and
providing the machinery for their enforcement through an independent judiciary and
other institutions. Apart from protecting the integrity of the human personality, the free
exercise of human rights ensures that people can fully participate in their governance
and hence control their destiny.
The Supreme Law of a Country: Constitution of state is the source of all laws in a
country. In other words, other specific laws with regard to different affairs and issues
are emanated from the constitution of a state. No specific laws will be valid if it
contradicts the supreme law of the land i.e. all laws in a country are made to fulfill the
objectives and goals clearly specified in a constitution of state. Therefore, all laws are
derived from the constitution, thus, constitution of a state is considered as the highest
law of a country i.e. constitution of a state serves as the binding instrument of all other
laws in a country.
As the Weapon for Legitimizing Regimes: A constitution of states is also
indispensable for building legitimacy for regimes. Legitimacy is the right to rule or the
validity to govern. A legitimate system of government is one based on authority- those
subject to its rule recognize its right to make collective decision or to rule or is the right
to act, rather than the power to do so. However, authority creates its own power so long
as people accept that the authority figure has right to make decision which is specified
by a constitution of a state.

4.1.3. Classification of Constitutions

Constitutions of a state in different political systems differ from one another in terms of
their principles on the distribution of political power, on the structural separation of
authority among the different branches of government, and on the limits they set on
government authority as well as their amendment procedures and their forms.
Accordingly Constitution can be classified into the following categories:
I. Written (Codified) Vs Unwritten (Uncodified)
Based on their form/appearance constitutions can be classified as written and
unwritten.
Written Constitution: Key constitutional provisions are collected together in a single
legal document. Being all the key provisions are available in a single document, it can
have the following benefits: (a) it is full of clarity and definitions because key provisions
are written, (b) it has the quality of stability- since people know the nature of
constitutional provisions; the people can feel a sense of satisfaction, (c) the Rights and
liberties of the people are secured- since all important points are reduced to writing, (d)
it has educational Value in that it highlights the central values and over all goals
(objectives) and principles of the political system, (e) major principles and key
constitutional provisions are entrenched, safeguarding them from interference by the
government of the day, (f) the power of the legislative is constrained, cutting its
sovereignty down to size, and (g) non-political judges are able to police the constitution
of state to ensure that its provisions up held by the public.
Unwritten (uncodified) Constitution: It refers to a set of rules, regulations,
declarations and laws passed by either a legislature/ other body (ies) at different times.
In other words, it is not compiled in a single document- containing key constitutional
provisions. Therefore, the legislative body will have the right to make/unmake any law
on any issue what so ever. Because most of the time uncodified constitutions didn’t
show clear separation of power between the different organs of a government and the
law making power resides in the hands of the legislative body.
Benefits of uncodified constitution: (a) it has the quality of elasticity and adaptability
to changing circumstances or situations, (b) it is resilient with the result that it can
absorb and also recover from shocks that may destroy a written constitution, and (c) it
is dynamic in that it prevents chances of popular uprisings.
II. Rigid vs. Flexible Constitutions
On the basis of amendment process constitutions can be classified as- rigid and flexible.
Rigid Constitution of State: It is a constitution that does not adapt itself to changing
circumstances immediately and quickly i.e. amendment procedures may be more or less
complex or difficult. For example, in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, and Spain, popular
referendums are used to obtain the public approval for constitutional amendments or
ratify once endorsed by the legislature. The FDRE constitution also stipulates the
initiation and enactment of constitutional amendment in its article 104 and 105.
Flexible Constitution: It is a constitution that adapts easily and immediately to
changing circumstances. The legislature has the unchallenged and unconstrained power
to make laws on any issues and affairs. Prominent examples are- UK and Israel.
III. Effective Vs Nominal Constitution
On the basis of the degree to which constitution of state observed in practice,
constitutions can be classified as effective and Nominal Constitutions.
Effective Constitution: Is the one that fulfills this two criteria: (a). at least, the
practical affairs of government correspond to the provisions of the constitution; (b). the
above occurs because the constitution has the capacity through whatever means, to
limit government behavior and activities. Therefore, an effective constitution of state
requires not merely the existence of constitutional rules and laws but also the capacity
of those rules and laws to constrain government behavior and activities- there is
constitutionalism.
Nominal /Facade/ Constitution: That shows the texts, principles, rules and laws that
may accurately describe the government behavior but fail to limit government behavior
and activities in practice. Therefore, a nominal constitution of state is not observed in
practice but in form. Hence, it can be said a paper value constitution- there is no
constitutionalism. Constitutions can be further classified into federal and unitary (based
on the nature of state structure), parliamentary and presidential (based on the systems
of government), etc.

4.1.4. The Constitutional Experiences of Ethiopia

4.1.4.1. Traditional Constitutional Documents

A. Kibra Negast: This literally means the glory of kings and gives the account of the
Legend of Queen Sheba which is not supported by evidences.
B. Fetha Negast: This literally means the law of kings. This is legal code which has a set
of religious and secular provisions since 17 thc. The Fetha Negest was basically a code of
law providing for secular and religious legal provisions.
C. Seriate Mengist: - This has provided administrative and protocol directives since 19 th
c. It is the first document known to have been used for allocating power among the
Crown, its dignitaries and the Church.

4.1.4 .2 Written Constitutions

A. The 1931 First Written Constitution of Ethiopia
The 1931 constitution was the first written constitution in the Ethiopian history.
However, it doesn’t mean that a new philosophy was introduced to the Ethiopian
political system. Instead, it was simply an attempt to change the unwritten dynastic
claim in to a written form, in other words; it didn’t provide genuine freedom to the
Ethiopian peoples. Its main aim was to give the country and the Imperial rule “an
image of modernity”. By large, the major aim of the 1931 constitution was guaranteeing
continuity to the rule of the Emperor. This can be clearly seen in the constitution that
the king was presented as the “representative of God”, i.e. the king is presented as
“Niguse Negest Seyume Egziabher,” which literally means king of kings elect of God.
Those who were participating in the political leadership were only the noblemen. Even
then, the power was absolutely in the hands of the Emperor.
The 1931 constitution was not initiated by the demand of the people and it was not also
initiated for the people. That is why there was no attention to guarantee popular
sovereignty, political freedoms and fundamental human rights to the Ethiopian people.
And the people were considered as subjects as they used to be, without granting any
kind of political and civil rights. In general the constitution was formulated/ introduced
mainly to attain two basic purposes that would advance the Emperor’s authority and
political control.
(1)The constitution was intended to give Ethiopia the image of “modernity” in the
international community. This was done in the hope of securing recognition to
Ethiopia’s statehood and the Emperor’s sovereign rule in the country. During that
period, Ethiopia felt pressures from the European powers that controlled colonial
territories in Africa. Ethiopia was accused of being “uncivilized” to be considered as a
sovereign political entity in an international atmosphere by the colonial powers. The
colonial powers did that to justify their presence in Africa with a “civilizing” and
“modernizing” mission. Therefore, Haile Selassie issued the constitution to impress
Europeans with Ethiopia’s political modernity in search of external sovereignty for
Ethiopia.
(2) More significantly than the above purpose, the constitution was introduced to
strengthen, and centralize the absolute power of the Emperor by extending his power
over the regional rulers. In other words the constitution was meant to create a legal
framework that enabled the Emperor to subordinate the traditional nobilities. The
emperor had greater desire to centralize power, thus, he used the constitution as a legal
basis to extend the power of the central government over regional rulers. As the result,
the emperor became the only person that could give political titles and appointments.
This helped him to end any tendency of provincial autonomy by the nobility. Thus, the
constitution provided him with legal framework for political legitimacy to his personal
rule.
This constitution served the interests of the Emperor. Thus, the 1931 constitution can be
referred as the Charter of the absolute power of the monarchy. The political and human
rights, freedoms and liberties of peoples of Ethiopia were denied.
However, the 1931 constitution laid some foundations for modern practices of
government in Ethiopia. These innovations can be summarized as follows:
1. Parliamentary System: One major contribution of the 1931 constitution was the
creation of the parliament. The parliament was bi-cameral, namely the Chamber of the
Senate and chamber of Deputies. These were the legislative body. The Emperor had the
power to appoint members of the chambers of senate from the members of dignitaries
who have for a long time served his empire as princes or ministers, judges or army
leaders while the Chamber of Deputies were to be elected through an indirect voting
system in which only the nobility participated until the people are capable of electing
them themselves. Their term of office was not limited. The primary function of the
deliberative chambers was advisory. It was not an institution that decides on laws
because the chambers could neither refuse to deliberate on proposal sent to them nor
initiate legislation themselves. The law making power was vested on the emperor and
the parliament was merely meant to rubber stamp the legislation of the Emperor.
2. Annual Budget: The 1931 constitution introduced the idea of providing fixed annual
budget for government. In principle, Annual budget was meant to be proposed by
minister of finance during deliberations in the Chamber of Deputies and in the
Senate, whose resolutions shall be submitted for the approval of the Emperor. In
practice, however, the assignment of budget as indicated in the constitution had not
been properly implemented.
3. Ministerial System: The constitution also provided the institutional framework for
the ministerial system. While the Emperor remained with the most important executive
power, the ministerial system of government was completely subordinate to the
Emperor. The ministers both individually and collectively were responsible to the
Emperor. There was no prime minister; the ministry of pen acted as the first among
equals. Thus, the executive branch of government was heavily dominated by the
Emperor.
4. Judicial Branches: The traditional courts of law were formally institutionalized by
the 1931 constitution. According to the constitution, there were two separate systems of
courts, known as, Regular Courts; and Administrative tribunals. The former one deals
with both civil and criminal cases. The Administrative Tribunals handle civil cases that
affect the government. At the top of the court system was Emperor’s Chilot, where the
emperor in person reviewed cases, and if necessary, change judicial decisions. The
highest judicial power was in the hands of the Emperor.
B. The 1955 Revised Constitution
After nearly 25-years experiment of written constitution, Ethiopia entered into the
second phase of its constitutional development. The political principles and objectives
of the 1955 constitution were much clearer in pronouncing the powers and functions of
the Imperial government than its predecessor. It included some provisions bearing
advanced democratic ideas compared to the previous written constitution. Like the
constitution of 1931, however, the revised constitution did not involve popular process
for ratification. Indeed it was “gift” from the Emperor to his subjects on the occasion of
celebrating his 25 years in power, i.e. silver jubilee.
There were major historical and political processes that forced the revised constitution
to come into being. One of the essential prerequisites for constitutional revision was the
act of federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia in 1952. Eritrea that had been under Italian
colonial rule for decades, and latter under the British protectorate, was federated with
Ethiopia following the decision made by United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
Under the supervision of the United Nations, the Eritrean constitution of 1952 was
drafted providing a separate system of government for Eritrea under the sovereignty of
Ethiopian crown. The federation of Eritrea, therefore, created abnormal political
situation. Firstly, the federal act was not strictly federal in its nature; Ethiopia remained
a unitary state with absolute rule of an Emperor, while Eritrea obtained an entirely
different government. In other words, there emerged two separate governments, based
on entirely different principles i.e. elected government in Eritrea and an absolute
monarch in Ethiopia. Thus, both were exercising different powers over the same
territory. Secondly, in its nature, the Eritrean constitution implied a more liberal
government that incorporated some element of democratic society. Thus the Emperor
saw it necessary to settle this political anomaly by granting the revised constitution of
1955. Moreover, it was also required to redress the inadequacies of the 1931 constitution
to cope up with the social and political dynamics of the period.
As far as the content and issues addressed are concerned, the revised constitution
maintained some of the basic principles of the 1931 constitution. However, it
incorporated some new concepts, and it was much more elaborated than its
predecessor.
The Revised Constitution more strongly established the Absolute power of the
monarch. It declares the “inviolability of the emperor’s dignity”. He could appoint and
dismiss the minister and other ministers, judges, diplomats, and other government
officials in all branches of government as he wished. The emperor also had the power to
dissolve the parliament. Any law could not come in to effect unless he approved it. He
was also provided with co-legislative functions. Besides members of the parliament,
only the emperor had the right to submit proposals; and proposals approved by both
house of parliament were not law unless and until signed by him. Thus, the emperor
has veto power on legislation and when parliament was not in session the government
issued imperial decrees. The emperor was not only commander in chief of the army
forces but was constitutionally empowered to meet threats to the defense or integrity of
the empire. The emperor exercised supreme direction in the foreign relations of the
empire and alone conferred and withdrew titles of prince and other honors and
instituted new orders. Moreover, his power also extended to the extent of determining
the administrative affairs of the church itself. In short, the 1955 revised constitution
made the powers and authority of the Emperor absolute and complete in the Ethiopian
state and society. In contrast, little significance was attached to the need to guarantee
political and human rights of the Ethiopian people through protecting individual rights
in terms of property, life and private affairs. However, in practice the mechanisms for
implementing these limited rights were largely absent. There were no effective means
for representing and reflecting the needs and interests of the people in the government.
In the practical sense, Ethiopian people were still considered as merely subjects of the
Emperor. Although the revised constitution of 1955 was a step forward in the history of
constitutional development in Ethiopia, in effect it failed to lay down a democratic
tradition in the Ethiopian political process.
In the end, it is possible to identify some progressive elements, which were included in
the Revised Constitution of 1955. These were the following: (1) It gave at least textual
recognition to rights and liberties of citizens, which included rights such as freedom of
speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and people’s participation in election of
the members of chamber of Deputies. But, there was no observance (enforcement) of
these provisions of rights and freedoms of individuals in practice at all. It was only
paper value to ordinary Ethiopians. (2) The Chamber of Deputies was made to have the
power, at least in textual sense, to question the ministers with the view to hold the
government accountable.
C. The Constitution of Peoples Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) (1987-
1991)
In order to deepen its power, the Derg established its single party, the Workers’ Party of
Ethiopia (WPE) in 1987. This has marked the transition from no party system to the one
party system in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, this did not give rise to democratic orders.
Through eliminating or weakening internal opposition, the Derg moved on establishing
the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE).
The PDRE constitution differed from the previous constitutions in some ways. (1) It was
drafted by a constitutional commission through a program of public “consultation”. (2)
It was later on ratified by the name of a popular referendum to provide it pretext of
broad participation. However, the discussions were not effective as planned because the
public was in the state of insecurity and intimidation. Discussions were carried out on
matters of peripheral importance and nobody dared to express his/her opinion on
issues of central importance such as political and ideological matters. The overall
objective of the 1987 constitution was the establishment of a proletarian dictatorship
under the WPE. Following that the constitution put all three branches of the
government under the strict control of the party.
Under the 1987 constitution there was no separation of powers but unity of power
following one of the basic principles of socialist constitutionalism. Power was totally in
the hands of Mengistu Hailemariam and/or the WPE but allowing separation of
functions only. In other words, what is desirable in a socialist set up is the delineation of
the competence and practical activities of the different state organs and not separation
of powers used in the capitalist political system.
The PDRE constitution has divided the unified state power among the National Shengo,
the Council of State, and the President of the Republic and Shengos of the
Administrative Autonomous regions. Theoretically, the National Shengo was the most
important organ exercising the most significant functions of the state of the PDRE.
Accordingly, the working people exercise their power through the National Shengo and
Local Shengos they established through election. The authority of other organs of the
state shall derive from these organs of state power. Thus, the National Shengo was the
supreme organ of state power through which the sovereignty of the working people
would be manifested.
The council of state was meant to be an organ of state power functioning as a standing
body of the shengo. The council was given the power, inter alia to ensure the
interpretation and implementation of the constitution including other laws; ratify and
denounce international treaties; grant amnesty, citizenship, and political asylum; and to
issue special decrees between sessions of the National Shengo. The President of the
Republic was to be elected by the National Shengo, and vested with broad powers. He
was the head of state representing the Republic at home and abroad as well as the
commander in chief of the Armed forces.
Matters pertaining to citizenship and fundamental freedom, rights and duties of
citizens were given better coverage in the 1987 PDRE constitution compared to the way
they were treated under the previous constitutions. To mention but few of the concerns,
irrespective of their nationality, sex, religion, occupation, social or other status the
constitution has provided that Ethiopians are equal before the law. This equality was to
be manifested through equal participation in political, economic, social and cultural
affairs. Moreover, the constitution came up with women’s rights which until then had
never been reflected in Ethiopian constitutions. It also set the duty to provide women
with special support particularly in education, training, and employment so that they
participate in political, economic, social, and cultural affairs on equal basis with men.
In Contrary to the previous constitution, the 1987 PDRE constitution explicitly states the
separation of state and religion. So it appeared to be a meaningful solution to problem
related to inequalities among nationalities in Ethiopia. The establishment of the Institute
of Nationalities was assumed by many as a prelude and by the Derg to ending the civil
wars. However, the most the Derg could offer was regional autonomy, as is unable to
implement genuine decentralization of governance.
D. The 1995 Constitution of FDRE
It affirms that the peoples of Ethiopia are the source of sovereignty. It also explicitly
states the rights and duties the two levels of governments i.et clearly declares the areas
that purely fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government and regional
governments as a well as their concurrent powers. It also states the political power shall
be held through periodic, fair and free elections, which entitles the Ethiopian citizens to
exercise their human, democratic, political, social and economic rights and freedoms.
For this it recognizes and affirms fundamental human rights and freedoms in
conformity with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other
international human right instruments.
The constitution dictates that any official or governmental body shall not exercise
power arbitrarily. Officials and governments at all levels are to be held accountable to
their people and responsible for their actions and decisions. If the people lose
confidence on their elected representatives they have a constitutional right to recall
them at any time.
Fundamental Principles of the FDRE Constitution
The Constitution embodied five fundamental principles which relates to sovereignty of
the peoples; supremacy of the constitution; human rights; secularism and transparency
and accountability of government. These principles give a background to many of the
rules that emerge in subsequent chapters thereby setting the framework for a better
understanding and interpretation of the rules.
Sovereignty of the Peoples
The FDRE Constitution unequivocally vests this sovereignty in “Nations, Nationalities
and Peoples of Ethiopia.” By so doing it presumes the existence of nations, nationalities
and peoples who seek sovereignty. This approach of vesting sovereignty in sub-
national units has important implications for the federal structure. Furthermore, it is
part of an expression of their sovereignty that Nations, Nationalities and Peoples are
bestowed with the right to self-determination up to secession.
Supremacy of the Federal Constitution
In line with the trend of federal systems the FDRE Constitution under Art.9 declares its
supremacy and makes other laws, customary practices and decisions of an organ of a
state or public official null and void if it contravenes the Federal Constitution.
Human Rights
As mentioned earlier, one of the distinguishing characters of the FDRE Constitution
from its predecessors is the emphasis given to internationally recognized human rights
norms. This fundamental principle is stipulated in Art.10 of the FDRE Constitution
which articulates “Human rights and freedoms, emanating from the nature of mankind,
are inviolable and inalienable”.
Secularism
The FDRE Constitution under Art. (11) Explicitly declare the separation of religion from
the state. In spite of the recognition given to religious law system in a restricted manner
the Constitution envisages an entirely secular state in which the state does not interfere
in matters belonging to religion and vice versa.
Transparency and Accountability
It is inscribed in Art.12 of the Constitution as the fifth principle. “The conduct of affairs
of government shall be transparent,” holds, Art12 (1). Moreover it stresses the fact that
“any public official or an elected representative is accountable for any failure in official
duties.”
4.2. Democracy
4.2.1. Definition and Ways of Exercising Democracy
The word democracy comes from two Greek words “Demos”-people and “kratein”- to
govern or to rule. Therefore, democracy can be literarily defined as People rule or rule
by the people. Further;
Democracy is government of the people, or government of the majority. According to
Abraham Lincoln who has been the president of the USA, democracy can be defined as
“the government of the people, by the people and for the people”. In other words,
democracy is a government comes from the consent of the people which is exercised by
the people and for the purpose of the people’s own interests.
 Democracy can be also defined as a form of government in which the right to make
political decisions is exercised directly by the whole body of citizens, acting under
procedures of majority rule direct democracy.
In theory, one of the defining characteristics of democracy is that the great mass of
citizens can directly or indirectly participate in political decision making and policy
making process of a state. Accordingly, there are two broad ways of exercising
democracy: Direct and indirect way of exercising democracy. Direct way of exercising
democracy implies a form of government in which the right to make political
decisions is exercised directly by the whole body of citizens acting under
procedures of majority rule. For instance, citizens direct participation in referendum
and local meetings/discussions. On the other hand indirect way of exercising
democracy is a way of exercising democracy in which citizens exercise their rights and
freedoms and discharge their obligations not in person but through representatives
chosen by them.

4.2.2 Major Theoretical Approaches of Understanding Democracy

On the basis of how we confront, with and view democracy, we can identify two
theoretical approaches of understanding democracy. These are: the procedural and
substantive views.
1. Procedural view of Democracy: This procedural view of democracy focuses on the
procedures that enable the people to govern themselves; such as meetings to discuss
issues, voting in elections, running for public offices. The questions that the procedural
approach to democracy seeks to address are. (a) Who should participate in decision
making? (b) How much should each participant’s vote count? And (c) how many votes
are needed to reach a decision? The theoretical answers to these quotations include:
 Everyone should participate in government decision making process, as possible as
directly, and through representation.
 All votes should be counted equal.
 An equality majority of the participants’ i.e. 50+% or the so called simple majority or
qualified majority (70%). This is the principle of majority rule.
2. The Substantive view of Democracy: The substantive view of democracy, on the
other hand, emphasizes on the substance of government policies, laws, rules and
regulations. According to this view democracy, the public of a democratic government
should at least guarantee such human and democratic rights as, for example, the right
to life, liability secularity, property, freedom of religion, conscience, thought,
expression, assembly, movement, peaceful demonstration, the right to petition, as well
as cultural rights, economic rights and forms of rights and freedoms. Therefore, the
principles of universal participation, political, social, economic and legal equality,
majority rule and the provisions of fundamental human and democratic tights, among
others, essentially characterize democracy and should be incorporated in state
substances.

4.2.3. Fundamental Principles of Democracy

Citizens should understand basic principles of democracy and be familiar with the tools
in their applications to specific situations. There are a number of universal principles of
democracy which are discussed below:
Sovereignty of the People: Is the idea that the only legitimate source of government
authority is the consent of the governed/the people. Consent is given by the people
through their regularly elected representatives and through the approval of all
constitutional changes. Popular sovereignty also means that the people have the right to
withdraw their consent when the government fails to fulfill its obligations under the
constitution.
Supremacy of the Constitution: Constitution is above all laws and organs of a state.
It dictates all laws and governmental or non-governmental acts to be under the
constitution. Thus constitution is important for officials or citizen to take extra care not
to violate any provision of a constitution. It is also important to keep in mind that if an
act is found to be against the constitution, the act will be without of effect or void.
Example, refer article 9 of the FDRE constitution.
Rule of Law: It is about both government and citizens are and must be, subject to the
laws of a country. Government decisions and actions shall be made according to the
established laws of the country rather than by arbitrary actions.
Separation of Powers: The legislative, executive, and judicial powers of a government
should be separated and exercised by different institutions. If a government follows
federalism, powers and functions should be distributed between the central
government and regional states in a sovereign manner.
Check and Balance: Powers given to the different bodies of a government are
balanced so that no branch can completely dominate others. Many of the powers of one
branch are shared and checked by those of the other branches. For instance, the
legislatives branch certain powers, which make it possible to check the exercise of
power by the executive and judicial branches.
Majority Rule and Minority Rights/Political Tolerance: Democratic societies are
politically tolerant. While majority of the people rule in a democracy, the rights of the
minority must be protected. People who are not in power must be allowed to organize
and speak out. Minorities are sometimes referred to as the opposition because they may
have ideas which are different from the majority. Individual citizens must also learn to
be tolerant of each other. A democratic society is often composed of people from
different cultures, racial, religious and ethnic groups who have viewpoints different
from the majority of the population.
Secularism: Individuals as well as groups should have freedom of conscience i.e the
right to decide for themselves what to believe. Freedom of conscience would be
endangered if government supported some religions but not others. Government
should do only what is necessary to keep the peace and prevent one religious group
from violating the rights of others. To achieve this goal government should not interfere
with religion in any way. For example, the following are included in Article 11 of FDRE
Constitution: (a) state and religion are separate; (b) there shall be no state religion; and
(c) the state shall not interfere in religious matters and religion shall not interfere in
state affairs.
Accountability: In democracy, elected and appointed officials have to be accountable
to the people. They are responsible for their actions. Officials must make decisions and
perform their duties according to the will and wishes of the people, not for themselves.
Transparency: A government to be accountable; the people must be aware of what is
happening in the country. This is referred to as transparency in government. A
transparent government holds public meetings and allows citizens to attend. In a
democracy, the press and the people are able to get information about what decisions
are being made, by whom and why.
Regular/periodic, free and fair elections: Electing their representatives in
government is one way that citizens can express their will in their own country.
Democracy insists that these elected officials are chosen and peacefully removed from
office in a free and fair manner. Intimidation, corruption and threats to citizens during
or before an election are against the principles of democracy. In a democracy, elections
are held regularly every so many years. Participation in elections should not be based
on a citizen's wealth as well as other status of individuals. For free and fair elections to
occur, most adult citizens should have the right to stand for government office (All
inclusive-election or universal suffrage). Additionally, obstacles should not exist which
make it difficult for people to vote.
Citizens’ participation: One of the most basic signposts of a democracy is citizen
participation in government. Participation is the key role of citizens in democracy. It is
not only their right, but it is their duty. Citizen participation may take many forms
including standing for election, voting in elections, becoming informed, debating issues,
attending community or civic meetings, being members of private voluntary
organizations, paying taxes, and even protesting. Participation builds a better
democracy.
Protecting and Sustaining of Human Rights: Human rights are those values that
reflect respect for human life, and dignity too. In other words, human rights have been
defined as “generally accepted principles of fairness and Justice” or “universal moral
rights that belong equally to all people simply because they are human rights”. People
are entitled to exercise these rights. However, human right can be restricted if they
interfere with the rights of other people.
Multi – Party System: It refers to a political system that legally allows and has more
than one party politics to participate in elections. In multiparty democracy, people of
different views and various ethnic groups will co-exist in the same state to live together,
improve their development, and promote their prosperity and welfare.
Equality: The constitution contains prominent statements of the value placed up on
equality in constitutional government. Basically there are three forms of equality. These
include: (a) Political equality-it is central to the idea that all people who attain the status
of adulthood have equal political rights. For example, each adult citizen is to have an
equal right to vote and to run for and hold political office. (b) Social equality-it is central
to the idea that there should be no social hierarchy at individual and collective level.
That is all individuals as well as groups of individuals should have equal
rights/privileges and duties. For example, in the case of Ethiopia, all Ethiopian citizens,
and nations and nationalities have and must have social equality without any
discrimination. Otherwise there would not be tolerance which is one core value of
democracy. (c) Economic equality-means all citizens of a given country deserve equal
and fair assessment to the national resources services, etc.
 4.2.4. Democratization and Actors in Democratization Process

Democratization refers to the institutionalization of democratic ideals and principles

and their effective functioning; and a full-scale transition from authoritarian regime and
its replacement by democratically elected regime. Democratization is a conclusive and
extended process, which involves the emergence or presence of the formal elements of a
democratic political system such as the recognition of basic civil and political rights,
multiparty system, electoral system and etc. Democratization in this sense, involves the
full-scale transition from authoritarian regime and its replacement by democratically
elected regime. It involves the rupturing all the links and connections of authoritarian
leaders, party or army to the state apparatus. In this sense, democratization represents a
true rapture and a political transformation.
Democracy is a process. Building up of democracy is not an overnight program it needs
not only time but different actors must also involve building democracy and democratic
culture. Thus, in this lesson you will look at the roles of different actors in the
democratization process. Different actors can contribute their part in the
democratization process which may include the following: Media organizations, civil
societies, political parties, government, citizens, etc.
1. Media: Responsible and independent media can encourage governments and citizens
to be informed, to discuss and debate, and to express their positions on domestic and
global affairs. In this way, the global communications revolution and the global wave of
democratization are mutually reinforcing: a free press is a vehicle for democratization;
democratization promotes the open society in which a free press can flourish. However,
in this age of instant information and near total communication, the media have become
not only the major venue for dialogue and debate within and among States, but also,
definitively, an international actor with a distinct role on the international stage. The
media can help keep international politics open, responsive and accountable.
2. Civil Societies: The democratization process has involved not only a change from
single party rule to multi-party contest, but also a general opening of space for social
and political activities, including for civil society. The prospect for democratic
consolidation depends on the development of a robust civil society. The prospects for
democratic consolidation are strengthened by the growth and development of a
powerful civil society, reflected in the presence of vigorous organizational vehicles for
popular participation.
3. Political Parties: Political parties fall under the umbrella of ‘non-state actors’ because
of the theoretical significance normally attributed to political parties in democratic
consolidation. To speak of democracy is to speak of a system of competing parties. One
justification for dealing specifically with parties is that although parties are, in principle,
private, voluntary organizations based on supporters and separate from the state, they
are distinguished from other civil society groups by their very function in the political
system. Political parties are private organizations producing public goods by means of
their functions: nominating candidates and seeking office control in order to implement
policy.
4. Interest Groups: Interest groups, as associations on the basis of the free will of
individuals, play a prominent role in the process of democratization. Consistent with
the freedom of association granted to citizens in democracies, democratic states are
characterized by the emergence and operation of several kinds of interest groups.
Interest groups are organizations or groups of people, which are autonomous from
government or political parties with the objective of influencing government. In
democracies we find several interest groups who are attempting to promote and
influence the policies of government. In fact interest groups are regarded as essential
transmission belts between people and government. They play an important role in
helping people interact with government, which is often remote and difficult for the
individual to influence. Interest groups, bridge the gap between the citizen and
government. Through interest groups, citizens communicate their wants on policy goals
to government leaders.
5. Public Opinion: Public opinion is of a crucial importance for democracy. Are you
wondering why? Public opinion is made up with citizens or specific groups that
reflect on their community and express their criticisms, their proposals or their
agreement to influence the construction of political will. It is not possible to talk
about only one, but of several public opinions because in a plural society, there are
always several stands.
Public opinion is then a tool to control the politicians that lead the country. On the
one hand, this is important for the opposition as the latter is only potentially active in
front of the government through this public opinion. Indeed, what important changes
would an opposition bring if it was only able to express criticisms in closed rooms? It
is when the opposition represents its stands and opinions, finds itself obliged to react,
otherwise it is running the risks of disaffection or destitution, from its citizens.
Moreover, public opinion serves the whole population in its effort to display
criticisms and its incitements to well defined actions.

4.3. Human Rights

4.3.1 Definition and Features of Human Rights
Definition of Human Rights: It is impossible to get one and a conclusive definition of
human rights. Different scholars provide various definitions of human rights. The
following are among the most important ones.
 Human rights are rights that could be enjoyed only by human beings.
 Every man is entitled to human rights simply because she/he is a human being
no further requirement what so ever is attached to it.
 Human rights are basic and fundamental rights which are held equally by all
human beings regardless of race, age, religion, class, language, color, birth,
political belief, social status or any other grounds.
 Human rights by their essential nature are universal in form; hence they are
interchangeably called as natural rights, which are equally possessed by all
human beings everywhere.
 Human rights are universal moral rights that all men everywhere and at all
times ought to have.
  Human rights irrevocable, which means they are always applicable and
permanent.
 One cannot loss his/her rights as far as he/she exists. Human rights are not
given by constitutions, conventions and governments, but they were
instruments for the protection and enforcement of human rights.
Basic Features of Human Rights: The following are fundamental features of human
rights:
1. Human rights are based on equality, because these rights are consistent and
based on human nature. They are applied equally at any condition, place and
time irrespective of sex, ethnic group, color, language, nation, age, citizenship,
religion, political outlook, social position and etc.
2. Human rights are eternal: as far as human society exists on earth human rights
continue to exist. In addition, any change in government and any change in
social, political and economic outlooks do not have impact on human rights.
3. Human rights are irreducible: human rights cannot be reduced to different
interpretation. Human rights are applicable in their fuller forms.
4. Human rights are indisputable: human rights are not subjected to different
arguments. As they are natural, we cannot argue over the elements of human
rights.
5. Human rights are inalienable: human rights cannot be separated from human
nature. We cannot alienate human rights from human nature because they are
fundamental.
6. Human rights are not given by government: government is not a body that
gives human rights. In the meantime, we cannot inherit human rights rather we
possess them by our nature of human being. They are transferred rights.

4.3.2. Classification of human rights

The French person jurist karel vasak advanced the notion of three generation human
rights. He was inspired by the three themes (liberty, equality and solidarity). The
classifications were:
1. First generation rights named civil and political rights- liberty rights.
2. Second generation rights named economic, social and cultural rights –
equality rights.
3. Third generation rights named solidarity rights or fraternity rights.
1. First generation rights: First generation rights are classified as civil and political
rights. Why?
Because, they are oldest of human rights; they have an old existence. This groups of
rights appeared in a legal form during the 17 th and 18th century’s revolutions such as the
English revolutions, American Revolution and the French revolution. They are based on
political philosophy of liberal individualism and economic doctrine of laissez fair. First
generation rights require the state to abstain from interfering in the life of the
individual. So, they are termed as negative rights. First generation rights became
associated with a set of liberal principles, personal rights matter; public authority
should respect personal autonomy and preferences. These rights are core rights as they
are stated in the universal declaration of human rights of 1948. This category of rights
covers the first 21 articles of UDHR. The common denominator usually asserted for
these set of rights is liberty. This means that the ideas (notion) consistently emphasized
in this generation of rights is liberty. Liberty is used as a shield/protector that
safeguards the individual(s) from the abuse and violation of rights by government or
political authority. Thus, liberty requires the abstention of the state from interference
with the rights of individuals. These set of rights are cost free for their realization. Thus
they are capable of immediate implementation. First generation rights include:
 Freedom from racial and in equivalent form of discrimination
 Freedom from slavery or involuntary servitude
 Freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
 Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile, the right to fair and
public trial.
 Freedom from interference in privacy and correspondence
 Freedom of movement and residence
 Freedom of opinion and expression
 Freedom of peaceful assembly and associations
 The right to participate in government directly or through election
 The right to own property and right not to be deprived of one’s own
property arbitrarily.
2. Second generation rights: Can you guess what second generation rights mean?
These rights require the extended function of the state to ensure economic and cultural
rights. They are also termed as positive rights. They need state intervention in fulfilling
the quest for these rights. They are emerged later from first generation appeared during
the socialist and social democratic movements. The economic, social and cultural rights
led to the emergence of welfare states. Economic social and cultural rights are
entitlements to socially provided goods and services such as food, health care, social
insurance, education and the rights to property. For example the right to work is a right
to economic participation and the right to education and to participate in the cultural
life of the community provide asocial dimension to the idea of personal autonomy. The
second generation rights focusing on economic, social and cultural rights stated in
article 22-27 of the universal declaration of human rights. This category of rights need
time to be fully realized. This is because, the implementation and realization of these
rights depends on the available resources and favorable conditions. These rights are not
cost free for their implementation. Thus they are not capable for the immediate
implementation; particularly, poor countries cannot easily implement these rights,
because they do not have economic resources. The underlying value that identifies
these rights is equality; social, economic and cultural equality. These rights are called
equality oriented rights. Accordingly, they include:
 The right to social security
 The right to work, and protection against unemployment
 The right to rest and leisure including periodic holidays with pay
  The right to a standard of living adequate for health and well being of self
and family.
 The right to education and the right to the protection of one’s scientific
literary and artistic production.
3. Third generation rights: What are third generation rights?
Third generation rights are the phenomena of the end the 20 th century. In other words
these set of rights emerged in the world in the second half of the 20 th century. Third
generation rights emerged with the emergence of new nation states in Africa and
elsewhere due to decolonization process. Thus the social groups behind the third
generation of rights are third world nations. The underlining value for these rights is
fraternity/solidarity. In other words, third generation rights are fraternity/solidarity
oriented rights/based rights. Third world countries demanded solidarity; both among
the developing state as a group and among all states in general. They are initiated by
third world countries or by developing countries. These rights are solidarity rights and
even more seen as collective rights based on notions of international solidarity and
relating to global structural problems rather than individual cases. As indicated in
article 28 of universal declaration of human rights which proclaims that everyone is
entitled to a social and international order in which the rights set forth in this
declaration can be fully realized. They include:
 The right to political, economic and social development
 The right to participate in and benefit from the common heritage of
mankind.
 The right to peace
 The right to a healthy and balanced environment
 The right to shared benefit from common heritage of mankind such as
earth and space resources.
All these rights tend to be collective rights, requiring the concerted efforts of all social
forces, to substantial degree on global scale.

4.3.3. Human Rights Instruments

For the enforcement of the above mentioned human rights, different
institutions/instruments are established at the international, regional, sub-regional and
domestic levels. These include:
1. International Human Rights Instruments: To make sure the effective
enforcement/implementation of all these rights, various regulations have been made by
the United Nations as an international institution. In 1945 the United Nations were
created upon some states’ instigation and now a day’s almost all states across the world
are members of this institution. Following its establishment it has published” the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR) which was formulated by the General
Assembly on 10 December 1948. The declaration consists of different types of rights
that include: civil, political, social and cultural rights. And for its actual effectiveness
some commissions as well as committees have been put in place, like for instance, the
“Children’s Rights Committee”. In a situation where one state commits
infringement/violation of human rights, there is, at the Hague-Netherlands, an
 International Court of Justice (ICJ) that is entitled to deliver sanctions to any offender.
In addition to the ICJ, the United Nations as an international human rights instruments
are supported by a large number of Non-Governmental organizations like the Human
Rights Watch which, through the contribution of active militants/activists in the
protection of human rights, can establish and publish report on diverse infringements
of these rights.
2. Regional Human Rights Institutions/Instruments
A. The European Convention on Human Rights of 1950: It was adopted by the council
of Europe in 1950, and entered into force on 3 September 1953. The convention has
originally created both the Human Rights Commission and a European Court of
Human Rights. These organs/bodies of the convention are entrusted with the
observance of the engagements undertaken by the high contracting parties to the
convention, but these come into force in 1998. For instance now a day’s all allegations
which are in relation to human rights are directly referred to the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. This court is the first, and so far only, permanent
Human Rights Court sitting on a full time basis.
The European Convention on Human Rights through its extended additional protocols
has prohibited the violation of Human Rights in various situations. For example,
Protocol number 13 which has been signed on 3 May 2002 in Vilnius concerns the
abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. In addition to the following rights
are fully guaranteed by this protocol.
The Convention guaranteed the following major rights:
 The right to life;
 The prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
 The right to liberty and security;
 The right to fair trial and the right to an effective remedy;
 Prohibition of discrimination;
 The right to a fair trial;
 The right freedom of expression;
 Freedom of association and association, and the right to freedom of expression, etc…
B. The America Convention on Human Rights, 1969 and its protocols of 1988 and
1990: the American Convention on Human Rights also called the Pact of San Jose, Costa
Rica, since it was adopted in the capital city, entered into force on 18 July 1978 and, as of
9 April 2002 had 24 states parties. The convention reinforced the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, which since 1960 has existed as “as an autonomous
entity of the Organization of American States”(OAS). The convention become a treaty –
based organ which together with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The major rights recognized by the convention:
 The right to humane treatment , including freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment;
 The right to personal liberty and security, including freedom from arbitrary arrest or
detention;
 The right to fair trial;
 The right to privacy;
 The right to freedom of association;
 The right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law;
 The right to freedom of thought and expression;
 The right to freedom of conscience and religion;
 The right to life;
 The right to freedom of movement and residence, etc.
C. The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, 1981: The adoption of the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights in 1981 was the beginning of a new era
in the field of Human Rights in Africa. The Charter entered into force on 21 October
1986, and as of 29 April 2002 including Ethiopia it had 53 states parties.
Although strongly inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African
Charter reflects a high degree of specificity due in particular to the African conception
of the term “right” and the place it accords to the responsibilities of Human beings. The
Charter contains a long list of rights, covering wide spectrum not only civil and political
rights, but also of economic, social and cultural rights.
The Individual and Collective Rights Recognized and incorporated by the Charter
 The right to freedom from discrimination on any grounds in the enjoyment of the rights and
freedoms;
 The right to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law;
 The right to respect for one’s life and personal integrity;
 The right to respect for one’s inherent dignity as a human being ; including freedom from
slavery , the slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment;
 The right to liberty and to the security of one’s person, freedom from arbitrary arrest or
detention;
 Freedom of conscience, the profession and free practice of religion;
 The right to receive information and the right to express and disseminate one’s opinions
(article-9);
 The right to freedom of association (article 10) and the right to assemble freely with others
(article 11);
 The right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of a state; right to leave
any country including one’s own and to return to one’s own country; the right to asylum in
case of persecution, prohibition of mass expulsion (art. 12) , etc.
3. Domestic Human Rights Instruments: Human Right Instruments in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has fully accepted the human rights provision of the 1948 UDHR. The present
as well as the 1987 and to some extent the 1955 revised constitutions have incorporated
the fundamental and basic freedoms and rights that are defined in the UDHR. For the
implementation of these rights there must be a mechanism of checking, monitoring and
protecting the human rights of citizens against abuses and violations. Now days there
are two major human rights institutions which includes; the Human Rights
Commission and the Ombudsman which are basically established for the protection of
citizens against abuses and violations of their rights and for redressing wrong doings.
According to Article 55 sub Article 14 and 15 of the current FDRE constitution the
House of Peoples Representatives (HPRs) is the responsible body to establish the
Human Right Commission and the institution of the Ombudsman and determine their
power and functions.
Major objectives of these institutions:
(a)to serve as public guardian for the growth of democracy and proper application of
rights, and stand for the fulfillment of human and democratic rights in Ethiopia; (b)to
protect Ethiopian citizens democratic and human rights as enshrined in the constitution
from any violations by societal forces including government authorities, administrative
personnel and community; and (c) to assist avoidance of injustice, misuse of
governmental powers, embezzlement and corrupt behaviors of governmental officials.
In addition to these institutions the FDRE constitution can be taken as another domestic
instrument of Human Rights. Because, Chapter three of the constitution from articles 14
to 28 gives guarantee for the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals/citizens.

4.3.4. Democracy and Human Right under the FDRE 1995 Constitution
1/3 of the provision of the constitution of 1995 deals with fundamental rights and
freedoms. This is an unusually high percentage which reflects the importance attached
to fundamental rights and freedoms by this constitution. The chapter on fundamental
rights and freedoms opens with the absolute and comprehensive requirements that all
organs of federal and state government at all levels have the responsibility and
obligation to respect and enforce the provisions dealing with fundamental rights and
freedoms. Some of basic human rights enshrined in FDRE constitution are:
 The right to life
 The right to liberty, security of the person.
 The right of person in criminal case to be treated human and fairly
 The right to protection of privacy
 The right to freedom of religion, belief and conscience
 The right to equality
There are also some of basic (democratic rights) fundamental freedoms that are
enshrined in FDRE constitution. Democratic rights are the rights designed to facilitate
citizen’s participation in self governance/democratic governance.

What is the difference between human rights and democratic rights?

The difference between human rights and democratic rights are not perfect. In fact,
there is difference between them. Human rights emphasize individual right where as
democratic rights are tends to be group oriented. Human rights are natural rights; they
are the rights that emerged with the emergence of the individual before the emergence
of the state but democratic rights are the rights legislated by state. Thus human rights
are not limited in time and space; democratic rights are limited in time and space. In
addition to these, human rights are civil in nature. These are some of basic differences
between human rights and democratic rights.

What are democratic rights that are enshrined in the FDRE constitution?
The rights that are designated as democratic rights in the FDRE constitution include
article 29-44:
 the right to freedom of thought and expression
 the right of assembly, demonstration and petition
 freedom of association
 freedom of movement
 marital, personal and family rights
 the right to vote and to be elected
 The rights of nations, nationalities and people to self determination.
 Economic, social, and cultural rights
 The right to labor
 The right to development and others
Does human rights are limited in some circumstances?

For the peaceful existence of individual in the society, every person has responsibilities
(obligations). This by implication indicates the existence of limitation on human rights.
For example even if we have a freedom of movement we cannot enter into other person
home without permission. When we say human rights, human rights have limitation in
a sense that enough and legal limitation. Human rights should be limited by taking into
consideration the rights of the individual with respect to the interest of the society. For
example, if someone speaks to destroy all people who oppose his religion in front of
gathered people in public square, police will arrest him. In this case his freedom of
speech of was violated (limited). With the occurrence of certain circumstances human
rights can be classified into derogable and non-derogable rights and freedoms.
Derogable rights are rights are rights that can be limited or fully suspended during
emergency. In contrast Non-derogable rights are those rights that cannot be limited or
suspended at any time regardless of state emergency. According to international
convention on civil and political rights the right to life, protection from inhuman
treatment, freedom from slavery, and freedom of religion are non- derogable rights.

RIFT VALLEY UNIVERSITY (ASELLA CAMPUS)

CIVICS AND ETHICAL STUDIES (cvet 231)

Instructor: Sime Yehualashet

Email: - smyehualashet@yahoo.com

Assignment2
Name ---------------------------Dpt---------------ID.NO---------------Division----------

1. Define citizenship and discuss the ways of acquiring citizenship?

2. What are the ways of acquiring citizenship in Ethiopia?

3. What is citizenship? What are the differences between written and

unwritten constitution?

4. What is Human Right? What are the basic features of Human Right?

5. Discuss the three Generations of Human Rights?

Date of submission: 20/09/2012