US-Africa: Make Human Rights Central to Summit

,,,, In Ethiopia, the government has systematically closed space for peaceful dissent over the past decade. In 2009 it passed a draconian law regulating nongovernmental activity which bars work on human rights, good governance, conflict resolution, and advocacy for the rights of women, children, and people with disabilities if organizations receive more than 10 percent of their funds from foreign countries. The country's most reputable human rights groups closed or scaled down their operations. The government has also used a 2009 counterterrorism law to arbitrarily detain and prosecute dozens of journalists, protesters, and political opposition leaders. Most recently, in July the police charged three journalists and seven bloggers known as "the Zone 9" collective after they wrote articles calling for reforms and peaceful opposition to government policies........read more....