Advocacy for Ethiopia

AFE's mission is to:

• advance the building of democratic institutions;
• advocate effectively the causes of human rights within various political spheres;
• promote accountability for human rights violations, bad governance, environmental degradation, and unsustainable economic practices;
• advance environmental protection;
• gain support for specific policy measures which advance human rights, good governance, and the environment in Ethiopia;
• create mechanisms to educate and broaden understanding of the issues;
• raise public awareness in the Ethiopian-American community and global Ethiopian Diaspora by monitoring human rights and governance abuses and the state of the environment in Ethiopia; and
• provide a clearinghouse for information and materials related to advocacy activities in Ethiopia.

In the short term, organisers say they will engage appropriate foreign policy makers to update them on the continuing human rights violations in Ethiopia, inform them of outstanding violations, and suggest appropriate actions. The organisation will monitor and document issues related to abuses of human rights, the rule of law, and damages to the environment to create public awareness.

In the long term, AFE sees itself as a clearinghouse of information on advocacy about Ethiopia, and hopes to impact foreign policy directed towards Ethiopia. Through their website, AFE strives to present information, data, and analysis that serve to enhance a better understanding and awareness of its mission.

Democracy and Governance, Environment

According to Advocacy for Ethiopia, over the past several years, Ethiopia has faced a number of crises and challenges. Large numbers of journalists and other dissidents have been jailed or forced to flee the country. Civil liberties continue to be trampled and widespread arbitrary arrests and detentions are common. The profound governance problem is one of the main causes of the environmental distress taking place in Ethiopia. Soil erosion, which is linked with deforestation and the land tenure policy of the ruling government, continues to contribute to the drying up of the country’s rivers and lakes. Acute shortages of water afflict major towns. Because of the scarcity of water resources, thousands of Ethiopians are afflicted by water born diseases. The lack of sustainable and ecologically sound industrial and agricultural policies and practices by state and non-state alike, and air pollution and toxic chemical in water resources are on the rise.