The papers by international and Ethiopian scholars included in Human Rights and Development: Legal Perspectives from and for Ethiopia focus on the interconnectedness between the protection of human rights and the achievement of development. The book adds to the international debate by providing a unique insight into the Ethiopian perspective on the nexus between rights and development and by discussing how this nexus manifests itself in the Ethiopian context. The comparative and international frameworks and examples constitute a valuable resource for the debate on human rights and development in Ethiopia, which is currently taking place in the context of the developmental state approach pursued by the Ethiopian government.
Having just emerged from a prolonged civil war and faced with the urgent tasks of establishing political stability and reinvigorating an economy in tatters, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (1991-1995) had to set a new direction for the economic reconstruction and social rehabilitation of the warn-torn and poverty-ridden country. During the Transitional Period a spate of new policies and strategies defining the development priorities, goals and implementation instruments of the new regime led by the EPRDF was introduced. This work is a synthesis of various sectoral policies and an attempt to trace the genesis of the policies, highlight the continuities, significant departures and other salient features. Each of the reviews in this digest briefly analyses the critical elements of the policies, identifies major gaps in the conceptualisation of the policy as well as the achievements registered and the challenges encountered in its implementation. The authors also try to identify the outstanding issues to be addressed by policymakers and suggest remedies. The policy reviews have been grouped into three parts and presented under social, economic and governance sectors.
The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development in 1986. The Declaration recognizes that development is an inalienable human right, and describes development as a comprehensive process leading to the well-being of all people. All states are called upon to cooperate internationally and work nationally to ensure that this comprehensive process in which all human rights can be realized is undertaken without discrimination, and that all people may participate fully and equally in this process. This paper provides an elaboration of the content of the right to development by drawing on international law. It addresses the obligations of states, particularly with regard to international cooperation, and considers the application of obligations of conduct, as well as those of result, in giving this right meaning. This paper also details the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples and how they relate to the right to development. The creation of conditions that enable a state to develop will not necessarily lead to the realization of the right to development by the individuals within that state. Traditionally marginalized groups – notably, minorities and indigenous peoples – may not benefit from this development or may be harmed by it. Even where the right to development is being realized by the majority, the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples could be violated if the process undertaken does not take account of their rights. The authors discuss the need to have in place the standards to ensure that the protection and promotion of minority and indigenous rights are fully integrated into policies designed to fulfil the right to development. Written in cooperation with the UN Independent Expert on the right to development, this work builds on his contribution to the mandated objectives of the inter-state UN Working Group on the Right to Development. It provides an important contribution to the scope of rights and obligations in this area, and the implications that stem from them, particularly for minorities and indigenous peoples.
Through rapid assessment of existing literature and review of policy and other official documents, the report synthesizes the existing knowledge and gaps on policies and institutions and identifies key research issues that need in-depth study. The report provides an overview of the range of key livelihoods and production systems in the Blue Nile Basin (BNB) and highlights their relative dependence on, and vulnerability to, water resources and water-related ecosystem services. It also makes an inventory of current water and land related policies and institutions in the BNB, their organizational arrangements, dynamics and linkages and key policy premises. It highlights the major problems in institutional arrangements and policy gaps and makes suggestions for an in-depth Policy and Institutional Studies to be done as part of the Upstream-Downstream Research project.
Specifically, the paper identifies and analyzes several direct drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Ethiopia including: forest clearance for both subsistence and large-scale agriculture; illegal and unsustainable extraction of wood mainly for charcoal and firewood; overgrazing; and recurrent forest fires. It also reviews underlying drivers including: rapid population increase and the associated growing demand for land and energy; extensive legal and institutional gaps including lack of stable and equitable forest tenure; lack of stakeholder participation in forest management and benefit-sharing schemes; and weak law enforcement. These drivers and the dominant actors behind them ranging from small-scale subsistence farmers to national and global investors are discussed in the context of the political economy, including the policy and institutional framework of the country. The implications of the overall forest condition to the objectives and requirements of REDD+ are evaluated, and key issues that need to be addressed for efficient, effective and equitable implementation of REDD+ are discussed. These key issues include: reconciling the apparently contradictory policies and programs, particularly those that negatively affect the forestry sector; improving the forest tenure and governance system; augmenting economic return from forests to communities and individuals; creating more efficient and effective forest institutions at all levels; and enhancing sectoral and regional coordination among implementing agencies.
This proceeding provides the papers and discussion results of a two-day workshop that was organized at International Water Management Institute (IWMI) office in Addis Ababa during the period of February 6-8, 2009 in relation to CPWF Project 19 – Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian Highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Short title: Upstream Downstream (USDS) in the Nile. The project is being under implementation during the last one and half years in partnership with various institutions that include International Livestock Research Institute, Cornell University, Omdurman Islamic University-UNESCO Chair in Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Bahir Dar University, Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute and Forum for Social Studies. The main aims of the workshop had been: Bring together key stakeholders relevant to the project; Present, debate and validate the intermediate results of the project; Disseminate key results to wider audiences through workshop participating stakeholders; Follow up on the progress of the project and plan remaining tasks of the project. The workshop focus themes were: General characterization of the Blue Nile Basin; Watershed modeling and analysis; Water demand and allocation modeling and simulation; Policy and institutions of the water management in the Blue Nile basin.
This book provides a comprehensive, multi-sector analysis of Ethiopia's development project, which has rightly been regarded as one of the development success stories of recent decades. The book will interest scholars in African studies, political science and development studies, in addition to those with specific interests in Ethiopia.
Although a large theoretical literature discusses the possible inefficiency of sharecropping contracts, the empirical evidence on this phenomenon has been ambiguous at best. Household-level fixed-effect estimates from about 8,500 plots operated by households that own and sharecrop land in the Ethiopian highlands provide support for the hypothesis of Marshallian inefficiency. At the same time, a factor adjustment model suggests that the extent to which rental markets allow households to attain their desired operational holding size is extremely limited. Our analysis points towards factor market imperfections (no rental for oxen), lack of alternative employment opportunities, and tenure insecurity as possible reasons underlying such behavior, suggesting that, rather than worrying almost exclusively about Marshallian inefficiency, it is equally warranted to give due attention to the policy framework within which land rental markets operate.
