Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia

Declaration on Human Rights Defenders

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General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/144 adopting the Declaration on human rights defenders

Elaboration of the Declaration on human rights defenders began in 1984 and ended with the adoption of the text by the General Assembly in 1998, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A collective effort by a number of human rights non-governmental organizations and some State delegations helped to ensure that the final result was a strong, very useful and pragmatic text. Perhaps most importantly, the Declaration is addressed not just to States and to human rights defenders, but to everyone. It tells us that we all have a role to fulfil as human rights defenders and emphasizes that there is a global human rights movement that involves us all. The Declaration’s full name is the “Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms” – with this longer title is frequently abbreviated to “The Declaration on human rights defenders”. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/Declaration.aspx

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 General Assembly resolution 217 A as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

About us

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Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) is an initiative that has established in September 2015. AHRE is a non-governmental, non-partisan, and not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of human rights protection in Ethiopia by providing support to the work of Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders and performing research, consultancy, advocacy and other related tasks that cannot be carried out effectively by human rights organizations based in Ethiopia because of the political and economical repressions they faced.

AHRE is the initiative of Ethiopian human rights activist that had fled the country and other members of the Ethiopian Diaspora. know that it has become very difficult for human rights organizations to work within Ethiopia, the Association is looking for new ways to continue its support to the work of Ethiopian human rights defenders and to raise awareness about the ongoing human rights violation in the country various level.

AHRE is established with the vision:

  • to strengthen human rights organizations in Ethiopia by raising awareness about their situation and their voices on the international level
  • to contribute to the safety of Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders through advocacy and capacity building and by acting as a catalyst and link for Ethiopian HRDs both within and outside Ethiopia
  • to perform tasks which cannot be performed by human rights organisations in Ethiopia because of the legal and administrative constraints and security risks, such as publishing reports, advocate in international forums and raise awareness about the situation of human rights defenders.