By DMLF
The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (hereafter the Commission) was established by Proclamation 1265 /2021( hereafter the Proclamation). The Proclamation was done as of 13th of January 2022. The term of office of the Commission is three (3) years.The term of the Commission shall begin from the time Commissioners have been appointed in accordance with the Proclamation. However, if there are sufficient reasons to extend the term of office, the House of Peoples Representative may order for an extension.
The Commission shall enjoy the government assigned budget. Nevertheless, the Commission is free to coordinate additional funds from legal sources.
The Commission is formed as an impartial and independent organ of the Federal Government with its own legal personality. The Commission is accountable to the House of Peoples’ Representatives. It is legally declared that everyone has an obligation to cooperate with the Commission pursuant to any lawful request of the Commission in the discharge of its mandate.
The Commission has among others the objectives of facilitating consultation between the various segments of the society by identifying the root causes of the difference on fundamental national issues and identifying the topics on which the discussion will take place and support the implementation of the recommendations made by the dialogues and build a democratic system of trust between citizens, the government and the People at the national level.
The National Dialogue and the overall tasks of the Commission shall be directed by principles of inclusivity, transparency, credibility, tolerance and mutual respect, rationality, implementation and context sensitivity, impartial facilitator, depth and relevance of Agendas, democracy and rule of law, national interest, using national traditional knowledge and values.
Once the dialogues are conducted, the Commission has a duty to hand over the documents prepared in time of national dialogue, minutes and other similar documents prepared in the term of the Commission, to the Secretariat of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and to the Ethiopian Archives and Library Service for preservation.
Therefore, Ethiopia has formed an independent Commission for national dialogue with the aim to resolve differences and disagreements through broad based inclusive public dialogue. The Commission shall lay the foundation for social and political issues to be solved in a sustainable manner, ensuring lasting peace and a consensus to build a democratic state.
For related inquiries, you may contact us at info@dmethiolawyers.com
