Ethiopia urged to drop proposed restrictions on Civil Society Organizations

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc

August 28, 2025

HRRC calls on the Ethiopian government to drop the proposed amendment to the CSO Law, and instead take measures to halt the growing trend of intimidation, harassment, and arrest of human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society organizations in the country. 

Ethiopia‘s increasing crackdown on civic space and human rights organisations has raised widespread concern. [Image source: Development Diaries]

In a recent public statement, Amnesty International called for proposed changes to the law governing activities of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ethiopia to be dropped, warning that the amendments risk the independence of CSOs in the country. 

The proposed amendments to the law, known as the “Organisation of Civil Societies Proclamation of 2019,” would firmly place the Civil Society Organization Board in Ethiopia in government control by allocating five of the seats to government representatives and only two for CSOs (which previously held a majority of seats). Amnesty warned that the changes would “render checks and balances nearly impossible” and “effectively closing the door to accountability” of the Authority on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia, the government body responsible for administering CSOs in the country. 

Previously, CSOs were able to serve as a check on the power of the Authority through the Board’s ability to consider appeals to Authority decisions, a check that would be made ineffective by the government’s proposed majority on the Board. 

In tandem with changes to the Board’s composition, the proposed amendments would prevent CSOs from receiving foreign funding while engaging in activities the government considers political activities, including election monitoring and voter education. Though CSOs would not be prohibited from engaging in these activities, the amendments would give the government broad access to CSO’s financial statements and even the right for the government to approve loan requests.

The ban on foreign funding for certain CSOs occurs amongst the spread of “foreign agent laws” in countries like Russia, El Salvador, Georgia and Slovakia, which prohibit or penalize CSOs working in a country from receiving foreign funding. The changes to the CSO law also echoes a foreign agent law passed by the prior government in 2009, which criminalized the activities of CSOs which received more than 10% of their funding from foreign sources. 

Ethiopia initially signaled a greater openness to protecting human rights and the independence of civil society organizations after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed office in 2018. However, since since the 2020-2022 conflict in Tigray, which has been labeled as a genocide, as well as current unrest in the Amhara and Tigray regions, attacks have increased on human rights defenders and CSOs that speak out against government abuses.

For example, journalists and human rights defenders have been harassed and arrested under the state of emergency declared in the Amhara region in 2023. In December 2024, three CSOs – the Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy, the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, and Lawyers for Human Rights – saw their ability to work in the country suspended by the Authority on Civil Society Organizations. Meanwhile, at least eight journalists are currently imprisoned in Ethiopia, according to Reporters Without Borders, and dozens more have fled the country. 

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Glossary 

• Amendment – a change to an existing law. 

• Allocate – setting aside. 

• Appeal – requiring a group to review a decision decided by another. Often but not exclusively used in court systems. 

• Civil Society Organizations – organizations that operate outside of the government to act in the interest of the public. Examples include media organizations, human rights groups, and groups advocating for LGBTQ+ people. 

• Checks and balances – procedures and powers given to certain groups and government structures to prevent another structure from amassing too much power. 

• Extensive – widespread or encompassing. 

• Harassed – subjected to attacks that, while not overtly violent, are meant to intimidate and/or stop an action. 

• Intimidation - threats meant to create a preferred outcome. 

• Penalize – punish, often financially. 

• Render – cause. 

• Suspended – prevented from taking place. 

• State of emergency – a usually temporary suspension of normal laws and protections to resolve an emergency, such as a civil conflict. States of emergency have often resulted in attacks on civil society and crackdowns on independent media. 

• Tandem – together with.