The Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia and Issues of Forced Evictions: A Case-oriented Study of its Practice

Abstract

The right to adequate housing, including prohibition on forced eviction, has increasingly been the subject of judicial and quasi-judicial review at both the international and national levels. The emerging body of jurisprudence on housing rights along with issues of forced evictions underscores that they are indeed legally justiciable human rights. Judicial and quasi-judicial bodies should thus not shy away from dealing with cases involving such matters. Mandated to promote and protect human rights, the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia was set up in 2000 as part of democratic institutions stipulated under the FDRE Constitution. Since its inception, the Commission has been receiving a growing number of complaints every year. Among them, a considerable number of complaints involve issues of housing rights and forced evictions. In most instances, it has rejected such complaints. Investigation of complaints on forced eviction is an exception rather than the norm. Although the reasons for the rejection of the bulk of complaints are varied, the Commission seems to avoid politically sensitive issues, such as the ones relating to forced eviction. This negates the very underpinning of the Commission. The Commission was set up as a reaction to the human rights abuses of the past and is meant to ensure that human rights and freedoms are the centre of all development initiatives. This paper, after presenting background information on the Commission and the normative framework of forced evictions, examines the handling by the Commission of complaints relating forced evictions carried out in rural and urban areas. It reviews some of the typical complaints rejected by the Commission to explore the rationale for the Commission's action. Finally, it recommends measures to be adopted to help the Commission deal with human rights complaints involving government policies and action.