Respecting Human Rights

The workshop, which took place on the 20th and 21st of December 2004 at the Ethiopian Red Cross Society Training Centre, aimed to create a forum where stakeholders from the Ethiopian Police Force, Justice bureaus and the prosecutor's office could discuss problems relating to the respect of human rights as well as possible solutions to overcome them.

The ICRC Head of Delegation, Mr. Marco Brudermann opened the workshop by thanking the Federal Police Commission and in particular the Ethiopian Police College for their excellent collaboration in the area of teaching Human Rights Law and Humanitarian principles to the Ethiopian Police Force and expressed his hope that it would continue in the future.

For his part, the Federal Police Commissioner Workeneh Gebeyehu hoped the workshop would highlight some of the problems related to human rights and come up with workable solutions.

Ato Ameha Mekonen, Head of the Addis Ababa Justice Bureau, Dr. Hashim Tofik, Director of the Ethiopian Police College and W/ro Sinedu Alemu, Supreme Court Judge in Addis Ababa, each presented research papers on the problems relating to the respect of human rights and the roles of prosecutors, the police and the criminal justice system and proposed remedies. W/ro Meaza Ashenafi, Executive Acting director of the Inter African Group, moderated the discussion that followed.

The workshop was attended by police commissioners, federal police investigators, members of justice bureaus, court presidents, judges, prosecutors from the regions and the capital as well as federal police instructors.

The ICRC is an independent and impartial h umanitarian organization with a mandate to assist and protect victims of armed conflict and to promote International Humanitarian Law.

 For further information, please do not hesitate to contact  

 Anna Schaaf, Communication Coordinator  

 ICRC Addis Ababa; Tel. 51 83 66