https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3136-1629
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ABSTRACT
Ethiopia, the host of the African Union, did not ratify the African Women’s Rights framework (the Maputo Protocol) for fifteen years. While realist, liberal and constructivist scholars have theorised why countries ratify human rights treaties, this article adds to this debate by asking ‘why not?’. Based on interviews, archival material, document analysis and fieldwork in Addis Ababa, the article explores the dominant explanations for adopting human rights treaties, such as donor pressure, legitimacy, openness of a political system and normative alignment. By analysing the Ethiopian government’s decision not to ratify the Maputo Protocol on numerous occasions before finally ratifying it quietly and with a long list of reservations, the article argues that countries may adopt regional human rights treaties for different reasons than the global ones. By tracing this ‘non-event’ from the early attempts to adopt the Maputo Protocol until its ratification in 2018, the article provides an in-depth analysis of the recent history of women’s rights in Ethiopia’s complex national context, including the rise of women’s movements, closing civil space, growing authoritarianism, anti-rights rhetoric, and a government crisis that paved way for reform.
Acknowledgements
The research presented is part of the Global Norms on Eliminating Violence Against Women in Ethiopia (GLOW) project, a collaboration between the Danish Institute for International Studies, Addis Ababa University and Peace and Development Center in Addis Ababa. Thanks go to Helen Abelle, Fana Gebresenbet, Adam Moe Fejerskov, Dereje Feyissa, Anchinesh Shiferaw, Yitaktu Tibebu and Meron Zeleke. I am grateful to Line Engbo Gissel and Lars Engberg-Pedersen for their feedback to this manuscript. Not least, I owe many thanks to the interlocutors who shared their experiences of gender politics in Ethiopia.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Adams, “African Women’s Movements and AU”; Berger, “African Women’s Movements”; Aili Mari Tripp, “Women’s Movements in Africa”; Abbas and Mama, “Pan-Africanism and Feminism”; Adams and Kang, “Regional Advocacy Networks”.
2 Ayeni, “Impact of the African Charter”; Serbes, “Ethiopian Reservation”; d’Orsi, “Are African States Willing”; Kang, “Bargaining for Women’s Rights”; Mujuzi, “Protocol to the African Charter”.
3 Emmenegger, “Non-Events”.
4 Capoccia and Kelemen, “Study of Critical Junctures”.
5 See the report by Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security at: https://giwps.georgetown.edu/the-crisis-in-tigray-women-girls-under-violent-assault/, accessed 6. July 2023.
6 Ojakorotu and Erameh, “Tigray Conflict”.
7 Tornius et al., “Implementing the global women, peace and security,” 32.
8 Wiener, “Enacting Meaning-in-Use,” 183.
9 Adams, “Regional Women’s Activism,” 204.
10 McKibben and Western, “Reserved Ratification”; Nielsen and Simmons, “Rewards for Ratification”; Wotipka and Tsutsui, “Global Human Rights”.
11 Krook and True, “Rethinking Norm Life Cycles”; Merry, “Constructing a Global Law”; Wiener, “Introduction”.
12 Fisher, “Image Management”; Hafner-Burton et al., “Politics of Legitimation”.
13 Donno et al.,”International Incentives for Women’s Rights”; Hafner-Burton and Tsutsui, “Justice Lost!”.
14 Keck and Sikkink, “Activists Beyond Borders”; Khagram et al., “Restructuring World Politics”.
15 Deitelhoff and Zimmermann, “Things We Lost in the Fire”; Zimmermann, “Global Norms with a Local Face”; Zwingel, “(Sub)National Change”.
16 Acharya, “Global International Relations (IR)”; Acharya, “Constructing Global Order”; Coleman and Tieku, “African Actors in International Security”; Murithi, “Transitional Justice Norms”; Tieku, “Governing Africa”.
17 Nielsen and Simmons, “Rewards for Ratification”.
18 Hafner-Burton et al., “Politics of Legitimation”; Hathaway, “Why Human Rights Treaties?”; Lebovic and Voeten, “The Cost of Shame”; Wotipka and Tsutsui, “Global Human Rights”.
19 Earl, “Repression and Social Movements”; Goldsmith and Posner, “Limits of International Law”.
20 Simmons, “Mobilizing for Human Rights”.
21 Engbo Gissel and Brett, “Africa and the Backlash”.
22 Risse et al., “Power of Human Rights”.
23 Keck and Sikkink, “Activists beyond Borders”.
24 Finnemore and Sikkink, “International Norm Dynamics”; Fisher, “Image Management”; Khagram, et al., “Restructuring World Politics”; Milton et al., “Needs or Symbols?”; Posner, “Law and Social Norms”.
25 McKibben and Western, “Reserved Ratification”.
26 Simmons, “Mobilizing for Human Rights,” 100.
27 Zvobgo et al., “Reserving Rights”.
28 Deitelhoff and Zimmermann, “Things We Lost in the Fire”.
29 Wiener, “Introduction”.
30 Zwingel, “(Sub)National Change,” 400.
31 Engbo Gissel and Brett, “Africa and the Backlash,” 26.
32 Dersso, “The Future of Human Rights”.
33 d’Orsi, “Are African States Willing”; Maluwa, “Ratification of AU Treaties”; Tieku, “Governing Africa”.
34 Fadaee, “Introduction”.
35 van der Vleuten et al., “Gender Equality Norms”.
36 Viljoen, “Human Rights in Africa,” 193.
37 Ibid., 198.
38 Lebovic and Voeten, “The Cost of Shame”; Nielsen, “Rewarding Human Rights?”.
39 Adams and Kang, “Regional Advocacy Networks”.
40 Maluwa, “Ratification of African Union Treaties”.
41 Stepputat and Larsen, “Global Political Ethnography”.
42 Littig, “Interviewing the Elite”.
43 Women in Law and Development in Africa and the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies.
44 Murray, “Human Rights in Africa,” 151.
45 Online Interview, 27 May 2021
46 Banda, “Blazing a Trail”.; attendees included ACDHRS, Akina Mama Wa Africa, AJM (Mali), AJS (Senegal), Equality Now, EWLA (Ethiopia), FAS, FEMNET, WILDAF, and WRAPA.
47 Online Interview, 27 May 2021.
48 Adams and Kang, “Regional Advocacy Networks”.
49 Omondi et al., “Breathing Life into the Maputo Protocol”.
50 van Eerdewijk, Kamunyu, Nyirinkindi, Sow, Visser and Lodenstein, “The State of African Women”, 74
51 Interview, 9 Febaruary 2021.
52 Simmons, “Mobilizing for Human Rights”.
53 Techane, “Ethiopia”.
54 Burgess, “A Hidden History”.
55 Interview, 21 May 2021.
56 Feyissa, “Combating VAW in Ethiopia,” 9.
57 Interview, 28 May 2021.
58 Ibid.
59 Ashenafi, “Participation of Women,” 72.
60 Tripp, “Women's Movements”.
61 Carothers, “Rule of Law Revival”.
62 Teriba, “An Enriched Life”.
63 Interview, 6 May 2021.
64 Interview, 28 May 2021.
65 Afesha, “Revised ‘Federal’ and SNNP”.
66 Ashenafi, “Participation of Women”.
67 Gebregziabher, “Ideology and Power”.
68 Bach, “Abyotawi Democracy”.
69 Human Rights Watch, “One Hundred Ways”.
70 Barata, “Minority Rights, Culture, and Ethiopia’s”; Abbink, “Ethnic-Based Federalism”.
71 Simmons, “Mobilizing for Human Rights”.
72 ReliefWeb, “Ethiopia: Local Observers to Sue Election Board”, 20 April 2005. https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-local-observers-sue-election-board.
73 Interviews on 21 and 22 May 2021.
74 Gebresenbet, “Securitisation of Development”.
75 Bakke et al., “When States Crack Down”.
76 Interview, 6 May 2021.
77 Interview, 21 May 2021.
78 Interview, 12 January 2021.
79 Interview, 22 May 2021.
80 Ibid.
81 ReliefWeb, “ActionAid Appeals for Release of Two Anti-Poverty Campaigners Detained in Ethiopia”, 16 December 2005. https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/actionaid-appeals-release-two-anti-poverty-campaigners-detained-ethiopia.
82 Amnesty International, “Ethiopia: Two Prisoners of Conscience Freed”, 28 March 2008. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2008/03/ethiopia-two-prisoners-conscience-freed-20080328/.
83 Interview, 22 May 2021.
84 Omondi et al., “Breathing Life into Maputo Protocol,” 29.
85 Pambazuka News, “SOAWR Public Forum in Addis Ababa Launches Women’s Rights Book”, 12 February 2007. https://www.pambazuka.org/gender-minorities/soawr-public-forum-addis-ababa-launches-womens-rights-book.
86 Pambazuka News, “SOAWR Campaign Update”, 11 April 2008. https://www.pambazuka.org/activism/soawr-campaign-update. I have no other data regarding parliamentary discussions at this time.
87 Brechenmacher, “Civil Society Under Assault”.
88 Dupuy et al.,”Hands Off My Regime!”.
89 Federal Negarit Gazeta of FDRE, “Charities Proclamation”.
90 Interview, 18 May 2021.
91 Amnesty International, “Supreme Court Ruling Marks a Further Erosion of Human Rights Work in Ethiopia”, 19 October 2012. https://www.amnesty.org/fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/afr250142012en.pdf.
92 Interview, 3 March 2021.
93 Interview, 6 February 2021.
94 E-mail communication, 5 March 2021.
95 Donno et al., “International Incentives”.
96 Fantini and Puddu, “Ethiopia and International Aid”; Feyissa, “Aid Negotiation”; Whitfield and Fraser, “Negotiating Aid”.
97 Zeleke, “Women in Ethiopia,” 11.
98 Addis Standard, “Ethiopia: A New Human Rights Action Plan as Country Plunges in Opposite Direction”. 9 December 2016. https://addisstandard.com/ethiopia-new-human-rights-action-plan-country-plunges-opposite-direction/.
99 Kelecha, “Protests, Development and Democratization”.
100 Ibid.; Labzaé, “Gimgema”.
101 Mokaddem, “Abiy Ahmed’s 'Medemer'”.
102 Ezega News, “TPLF Removes Its Chairman, Demotes Executive Members”, 28 November 2017. https://www.ezega.com/News/NewsDetails/5028/TPLF-Removes-Its-Chairman-Demotes-Executive-Members.
103 Interview, 15 April 2021.
104 Milton et al., “Needs or Symbols?”
105 Interview, 31 April 2021.
106 Risse et al., “Power of Human Rights.“
107 Interview, 6 May 2021.
108 Interview, 17 February 2021
109 Interview, 6 May 2021.
110 Zvobgo et al., “Reserving Rights”.
111 Interview, 6 May 2021.
112 Oxfam GB, “Promoting Women’s Rights”.
113 African Union and Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR). “Virtual Sessions on the Universal Ratification, Domestication and Implementation of the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women”, November 2020.
114 Birhanu, “Reflections on Ethiopia’s Reservations,” 131–3.
115 McKibben and Western, “Reserved Ratification”.
116 Interview, 24 May 2021.
117 Concluding remarks in Parliamentary Minutes, 10 January 2018.
118 Hosseinioun, “Regional Rights Regime”; Roggeband, “Ending Violence against Women”.
119 Maluwa, “Ratification of AU Treaties”.
120 Tieku, “Governing Africa”; Moravcsik, “Origins of Human Rights”.
121 Axford et al., “Rethinking Ideology”.
122 Richardson-Little, “Socialist Declaration of Human Rights”.
123 Keck and Sikkink, “Activists Beyond Borders”.