Ethiopia, EU hold Annual Human Rights and Governance Consultation.

April 7, 2017 - By Spokesperson's Directorate General

In this Edition

#Ethiopia and the #EuropeanUnion held the 1st of its kind Annual Human Rights and Governance Consultation here in Addis Ababa on Thursday (April 06, 2017).
On the occasion, an Ethiopian delegation led by State Minister of Foreign Affairs Mrs. HirutZemene met with EU delegation headed by Mr. Stavros Lambrindidis, European Union Special Representative for Human Rights.
The annual consultation featured issues, such as human rights, good governance, democratic process, economic cooperation, and migration.
State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. HirutZemenenoted the strong support Ethiopia has been receiving from the European Union and welcomed the initiative to start the annual dialogue on issues of human rights and democracy.
Briefing the EU delegation on current issues in Ethiopia, State Minister Hirut underlined that the situation in Ethiopia is now calm and the extension of the state of emergency for the next four months is meant to further ensure the prevalence of peace and security in the country, adding that this would bring more guarantee for public safety and security and the respect of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Mr. Stavros Lambrindidis, European Union Special Representative for Human Rights, welcomed the launching of the first annual human rights consultation, noting that this would enhance the respect of fundamental human and democratic rights in Ethiopia.
The Special Representative underscored that the EU is keen to further strengthen its long-standing ties and cooperation with Ethiopia. The EU emphasizes on the need to move forward the partnership with Ethiopia in the spirit of ACP- EUPartnership Cotonou Agreement, he added.
The two sides dealt at length on how to further insure the respect of fundamental human and democratic rights including insuring rule of law, due process of law, promoting youth employment, ensuring respect of child and women rights, widening the political space in Ethiopia and expanding cooperation in the fight against human trafficking.
Ethiopia and the EU have enjoyed over 40 years of strong and enduring partnership and cooperation on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues.