Between 14 November 2024 and 22 November 2024, three prominent Ethiopian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had their activities in Ethiopia suspended by the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO), without prior warning and with immediate effect. The organisations were targeted on the basis that, according to the ACSO, their activities undermine the interests of the public and the State.
The Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD) is a human rights organisation working in defence of the participation of civil society in physical and digital spaces for the protection of human rights and the promotion of a democratic culture in Ethiopia. Since 2019, CARD works to ensure the respect of human rights, progress democratization, and promote a culture of non-violence through advocacy, training, and research, and empowerment of individuals and communities to participate meaningfully in democratic processes and claim their rights.
The Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of human rights protection in Ethiopia, carrying out research-based investigations at a national level. They do this by reviewing the human rights situations in the country and performing advocacy and other related tasks that cannot be carried out effectively by other human rights organizations because of legal and administrative restrictions and security risks.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is an organisation that supports lawyers who work on human rights matters in Ethiopia. The LHR works by empowering lawyers with knowledge and skills, increasing their role in the promotion and protection of human rights, supporting vulnerable groups and remedying human rights violations through strategic litigation.
On 14 November 2024, the ACSO informed the Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD) by phone that it’s activities had been suspended. A week later, on 22 November 2024, the ACSO telephoned and sent a letter to the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) stating that it’s activities were to be suspended with immediate effect. Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) also received a suspension letter from the ACSO that same day. The organisations were targeted on the basis that, according to the ACSO, the organisations’ activities undermine the interests of the public and the State.
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Ethiopia: Arbitrary suspension of civil society organisations
