The 2017 HRCO report revealed living conditions at Finote Selam prison in Amhara, Awash-Arba prison and Kilinto prison. [66] At Finote Selam prison, reports indicate that prisoners were beaten and tortured, and that the Amahara and Oromo ethnic groups were treated worse than other groups. Prisoners were also forced to spend time in latrine pits with human feces. In Awash Arba prison, they were overcrowded, malnourished, beaten and forced to do physical labour. [66] In addition, prisoners spent time outside, walking barefoot and sitting in the sun for days at a time. In Kilinto, prisoners were forced to confess under threat of corporal punishment while being abused. [66] The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (HRCO) is a non-governmental nonprofit organization committed to building a democratic system, promoting the rule of law and due process, and promoting and implementing human rights monitoring. The constitution recognizes the primacy of international human rights instruments to which Ethiopia has acceded as sources of interpretation of the provisions of the constitution that are relevant to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Yimer said. All citizens, whether foreign or refugee, enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Constitution without any form of discrimination or distinction.

The Constitution also contains a number of important provisions that directly and indirectly relate to the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Covenant. It also included specific provisions for women and children that offered them protection from harmful traditional practices, customs and laws. Could the delegation refer to children who did not go to school and worked and child prostitution? What protections are in place for orphaned and vulnerable children, including street children, heads of household, child labourers and child prostitutes? Was school free and compulsory? Were there any plans to raise the age of responsibility from 9 to 18? Is there a separate juvenile justice system? In August, the European Commission of Human Rights reported that regional courts had accepted the innocence of prisoners. The human rights organization also said the courts were ensuring that prisoners` families were informed of detentions. Impunity remained a problem, although some steps were taken to hold the security forces accountable. The lack of transparency regarding those charged and brought to justice made it difficult to determine whether significant improvements had been made. Since the early 1990s, Ethiopia has made great strides in the promotion and protection of human rights through the adoption of its Federal Constitution in 1995 and the ratification of the main international human rights instruments. Although Ethiopia became a party to the Covenant in 1993 and has since achieved many successes in the full implementation of the provisions of the Covenant, the problem of capacity and financial constraints prevented Ethiopia from submitting its report on time for the Covenant. To address this issue, the Ethiopian government has taken several positive steps, including promoting closer cooperation with relevant local and international institutions. One of those key institutions is the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, with which the Government of Ethiopia has a very effective and exemplary relationship. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for East Africa and the Horn of Africa, based in Addis Ababa, not only provided technical assistance for the preparation of reports, but also carried out a number of important activities, including capacity-building of national human rights institutions, human rights education and awareness-raising, and training of law enforcement officials in the administration.

prison. In addition to its relationship with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Government has also encouraged the participation of civil society. The committee member went on to say that it was important for Ethiopia and other countries to adopt the Optional Protocol, as the committee would benefit from their judges on how to better protect human rights under the Covenant. Delegation`s response With regard to trafficking in human beings, how had the perpetrators been convicted, how had the State collected reliable data on crime and did it envisage adopting a comprehensive law to combat trafficking in human beings? The Consortium of Ethiopian Rights Organizations (CERO) is an association of Ethiopian charities working for human rights and governance. The law provides for a legal maximum working time of 48 hours with a rest period of 24 hours, the payment of bonuses for overtime and the prohibition of excessive compulsory overtime. Four conditions allow employers to use overtime: urgency of the task, danger, absence of an employee and lack of alternatives.