Chapter Four

Constitution, Democracy and Human Rights

This chapter is devoted to discus three core and interrelated issues in civics and ethics. The
first part of the chapter deals about constitution and constitutionalism. Following this
democracy and its basic principles are covered in the second section. In the third section, the
issue of human right is discussed. After a thorough assessment of the above three issues, the
last part of the chapter provide a review of the Ethiopian experience.
4.1. Constitution

Constitution refers to body of rules and laws,(written or unwritten) that determine the
organization of government and the distribution of powers and functions to various organs of
government, regulate the relationship among themselves and also between the state and its
individuals through general principles on which these powers are to be exercised. Given this,
a constitution is also figuratively defined as the fundamental or basic law of a state which sets
out the structure of the state and also lists the rights of citizens alongside the limits on the
power exercise of a government.

Constitutionalism refers to a doctrine that governments should be faithful to their

constitutions because the rules and laws so provided are all that can protect citizens’ rights
from arbitrary actions and decisions of the government. Put differently, it is the belief that
constitution of a state is the best arrangement of things and activities in a society. What then
is a constitution for?

4.1.1 Purposes of Constitution

Having a constitution is not an end on its own rather it is meant to serve some notable
purposes. Following is, therefore, a description about some of these important purposes and
functions of a constitution.
 It serves as a framework for Government: This means that the constitution of state
is a plan for organizing the operation of government which in turn effectively guides the
functions and powers of the executive, legislative and judicial bodies of government. In other
words, it is a brief and a general outline of duties and rights of governments and also that of
citizens.
 It Limits the Powers of Government: A country has a constitution may not
necessarily mean it has a constitutionally limited government. There is a difference between

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having a constitution and having a constitutionally limited government. Given this, in a
constitutionally limited government, officials are always abided by the constitution. i.e there
is no decision or action that will be undertaken arbitrarily and spontaneously rather every
decision, act, or behavior is entertained according to rules and laws that originate from the
constitution. This subjection to the laws and rules from the part of the government and the
governed (the people) is coined as the rule of law. However, Constitutional Government
protects the rights and a freedom of citizens doesn’t mean that the government has no
authority to effectively exercise its functions. A constitutional Government is neither too
powerful nor too weak because If a government is excessively powerful, i.e. if it has
unlimited powers, it tends to abuse the rights and freedoms of citizens. If, on the other hand, a
government is too weak it can’t protect citizens. Therefore, constitutions shall grant
Governments enough powers to effectively and consistently undertake their functions and
responsibilities but at the same time must put limits on their powers to make sure that they
are not in a position to endanger the rights and freedoms of citizens.
 It protects individual and collective rights of citizens: To protect the individual and
collective rights and freedoms of people, the constitution of a state lay down the relationship
between the state and the individual by making out the respective spheres of government on
the one hand, and the individual and collective rights and freedoms on the other.
 It serves as the Supreme (Highest) Law of a Country: this implies that Constitution
is the source of and supreme over all laws in a country. i.e. No specific law will be valid if
it contradicts the constitution. All laws in a country are made to fulfill the objectives and
goals clearly specified in a constitution of a given country. Because of this, the constitution of
state is referred to as “the law behind other laws or “the Mother of all laws” of a country.
 It provides Government legitimacy/stability : as they formalize and regulate
relationships between political bodies and citizens and also provide mechanisms through
which any potential conflicts can be adjudicated and resolved, constitution usually provide
the vital function of introducing a measure of stability, order, and predictability of
government. This in turn gives governments a legitimate/legal right to rule or govern and by
doing so it serves as the weapon for legitimizing regimes.
4.1.2 Classification of Constitutions
For the convenience of studying constitution of state scholars of the subject find it valuable to
categorize constitutions in different categories based on criteria such as the principle they
posses pertaining to distribution of political power, separation of power among branches of
government, and the procedures employed for amending the constitution. Accordingly,
constitutions in different political systems differ from one another. They also differ in their

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form, content and patterns of political arrangements as a result of variations in historical
backgrounds, social traditions and political practices.

A. Constitution based on form

- Written /codified constitution: is one in which key constitutional provisions are
found collected and compiled together in a single legal document so that it renders
advantages of stability and easy accessibility
- Unwritten/ un codified constitution: refers to a set of rules, regulations,
declarations and laws passed by either a parliament (the legislative body) or other
competent body at different times that are not compiled in a single document
containing key constitutional provision yet it renders advantages of
elasticity/adaptability to changing circumstances or situations.
B. Constitution based on complexity of amending process
- Rigid constitution: is one that does not adapt itself to changing circumstances
immediately and quickly or simply one whose amendment procedures are relatively
complex or difficult.
- Flexible constitution: is one that adapts easily and immediately to changing
circumstances or simply one whose amendment procedures are relatively simple.
C. Constitution based on degree of practice
- Effective constitution : denotes to a situation in which government/citizens
practices correspond to the provisions of the constitution,
- Nominal constitution: the constitution accurately describes government’/citizens’
limits yet in practice either or both fail to behave accordingly. In short when the
constitution only remains to have paper value or when there is absence of
constitutionalism.
D. Constitution based on political arrangement
- Federal or Unitary ones distribute it among the different branches and levels of
government (the former) or depending on the extent to which they concentrate
government legislative, executive and judicial powers at the center (the latter).

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 4.2. Democracy

4.2.1. Defining Democracy

The term democracy and the classical conception of democratic rule are firmly rooted in
Ancient Greece. Like other words that end in ‘cracy’ – such as autocracy, aristocracy and
bureaucracy – democracy is derived from the ancient Greek word kratos, meaning ‘power’ or
‘rule’. Democracy therefore means ‘rule by the demos’, demos standing for ‘the many’ or
‘the people’. In contrast to its modern usage, democracy was originally a negative or
pejorative term, denoting not so much rule by all, as rule by the property less and uneducated
masses. Democracy was therefore thought to be the enemy of liberty and wisdom. While
writers such as Aristotle were prepared to recognize the virtues of popular participation, they
nevertheless feared that unrestrained democracy would degenerate into a form of ‘mob rule’.
Indeed, such pejorative implications continued to be attached to democracy until well into the
twentieth century.

Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as the virtues of what he called ‘government of the
people, by the people, and for the people’. In so doing, he defined between two contrasting
notions of democracy. The first, ‘government by the people’, is based upon the idea that the
public participates in government and indeed governs itself: popular self-government. The
second, ‘government for the people’, is linked to the notion of the public interest and the idea
that government benefits the people, whether or not they themselves rule. The classical
conception of democracy, which endured well into the nineteenth century, was firmly rooted
in the ideal of popular participation and drew heavily upon the example of Athenian
democracy. The cornerstone of Athenian democracy was the direct and continuous
participation of all citizens in the life of their polis or city-state.

4.2.2 Ways of Exercising Democracy

If one maintains the definition of democracy to be a government system in which supreme
power is vested in and exercised by people, two broad ways of exercising it can be singled
out namely direct and indirect democracy.
I. Direct democracy implies a form of government in which the right to make political
decisions is exercised directly by the whole body of citizens acting under procedures of
majority rule. It is also known as pure/classical democracy. Every decision concerning
the government is decided based on popular vote. This kind of democracy was mainly
practiced in Ancient Greece city states. As the city states were relatively had small
population it was manageable to conduct direct democracy. In modern society/state,
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 because of the population size of countries direct democracy has lost its validity and
substituted by indirect/ representative democracy. However even in modern times there
are some cases that governments applied direct democracy. These include referendum,
recall, initiative and plebiscite.
II. Indirect democracy on the other hand refers to a form of government in which citizens
exercise their rights and freedoms and discharge their obligations not in person but
through representatives chosen by themselves. Citizens will submit their sovereignty for
their representatives. The representatives will act on the behalf of the citizens they are
representing.
4.2.3 Fundamental values and principles of Democracy
There are three core values that are central in the discussion of the concept of democracy.
These are values of liberty/freedom, justice and equality. Lets us now briefly look at what
each of them means.

 Liberty: This value includes personal freedom (to mean that Individuals should be free
from arbitrary arrest and detention and also their homes/property should be secured
from unreasonable searches and seizures), political freedom ( to imply that people of a
nation have the right to participate freely in the political process such as elections
without being subject to arbitrary arrest, harassment and electoral corruption such as
buying votes, intimidation and obstruction of voter) and economic freedom ( to mean
that citizens should have the right to acquire, use, transfer and dispose of private
property without unreasonable governmental interference and more over to enjoy right
to seek employment wherever one pleases, to change employment at will and to engage
in any lawful labor unions or business corporations).

 Justice: this value of democracy can be understood in three general senses of fairness.
These are distributive Justice (the sense of distributing benefits and burdens in society
via agreed up on standards of fairness), corrective Justice (the sense that a proportional
response should be in place to correct wrongs and injuries) and procedural justice (the
idea that procedures used for gathering information and making decisions should be
guided by such principles as impartiality and openness of proceedings).
 Equality: three notions of equality are of particular significance here for our discussion.
i.e political equality ( implying that all people who attain the status of adult hood have
equal political rights or in short one man-one vote- one value) , social equality
( implying that there should be no social hierarchy at individual and collective level or

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 no discrimination what so ever)and economic equality (implying that all peoples of a
country deserve equal and fair assessment to the national resources services).
Although we can be exhaustive in our list, the followings constitute some of the fundamental
principles of democracy. These are;
1. The principle of popular sovereignty: this is the idea that the only legitimate source of
government authority is the consent of the governed which consist of the citizens of a state
as a whole. Consent is given by the people through their regularly elected representatives and
approval of all constitutional changes. Popular sovereignty also means that the people have
the right to withdraw their consent when the government fails to fulfill its obligations under
the constitution.
2. The principle of constitutional supremacy: This is a principle that puts the constitution
at the highest level in the hierarchy of laws. According to this principle, the constitution is
above all laws and organs of a state. This principle dictates all laws and governmental or non-
governmental acts to be under the constitution. It also implies that if an act is found to be
against the constitution, it would out of effect or void. In the Ethiopian case, Article 9 of the
FDRE constitution states that the highest power and authority is vested in the nations,
nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia to indicate that they are the sovereign in the land.
3. The principle of Rule of Law: it means that both government and the governed are and
must be subject to the laws of a country when they make decisions and take actions instead of
doing so arbitrarily.
4. Equality before the law: refers to all individual citizens should be treated equally before
the law regardless of their political opinion, religion, ethnicity, language, sex….
5. The principle of secularism: this is a principle that demands strict separation of
religious and political affairs and hence state and church operations basing on the philosophy
that Individuals and groups in a free society should have freedom of conscience (the right to
decide for themselves what to believe in which case it can be threatened if government
becomes religious and supports some religions but not others).
6. The principle of accountability and transparency: this is a principle that as the
ultimate power holder is the people public officials at different levels should involve public
participation in decision makings and also be answerable for any misdoings.
7. The principles of separation of powers: the idea that the law making, implementation
and interpretation powers of government should be separated horizontally among the
legislative, executive, and judicial institutions and vertically between the central and state
governments and this principle also entails the issue of checks and balance (to mean that the

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powers given to the different branches of government are balanced so that no branch can
completely dominate the others).
8. Free, fair and periodic election: in order to establish democratic government, first the
election should be free means all interested parties to the election should get the chance to
participate in the election. Secondly, fair means after giving the chance of participation all of
them should be treated equally without discrimination. Finally, the election should be
conducted periodically with fixed duration.
9. The principle of majority rule minority right: After conducting democratic election,
those who gets the majority vote will establish a government. The policies, programs and
decisions of the majority will govern the country while the right of the minority respected
10. The principle of civilian government and peaceful transition of political power: This
is a general principle that there must be a civilian control of the military often to be reflected
in the form of making the head of government or state also the commander in chief of the
armed forces and most importantly giving the parliament constitutional power to declare war.
11. The principle of protection and promotion of human rights: Human rights are those
naturally given values that reflect respect for human life and dignity hence their protection
and promotion test the legitimacy and constitionality of a democratic government.
12. The principle of multi – party system: having several political parties working together
in one political system.
4.2.4. Democratization and Actors in Democratization process
Democracy is a variable not a fixed phenomenon; it changes and develops over time, so that
what was regarded as good democratic practice a hundred years ago may not be now.
Democracy does not automatically arise out of “primal mud” but needs to be planted and
nourished by years of practice and experience through various levels of democratization
process.
Democratization is the process of transitions from nondemocratic to democratic regimes that
occur within a specified period of time and that significantly outnumber transitions in the
opposite direction during that period. It is not a simple process and will taken an extend
period of time to complete, if it wishes to be prosperous. There are three main elements in
democratization such as the removal of the authoritarian regime, installation of a democratic
regime, and the consolidation, or long-term sustainability of the democratic regime.
Democratization across the world is often divided into ‘three waves.’
1. The first, from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century/1810-1922/, saw between
fifty-five states achieve a degree of democratic stability, depending on how ‘democracy’
is defined. Even the most democratic, such as the USA or Britain, restricted the voting

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 rights of women or black Americans. Monarchies and empires were the dominant state
forms.
2. The second, from about 1950 to 1975, was mainly the result of decolonization. The
picture changed dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century. By this period ,
the total number of states had risen to eighty, and twenty-two of them could be
characterized as ‘democracies’, which meant that about 31 per cent of the world
population was living under democratic rule.
3. The third, from about 1975 to 2000, was mainly the result of the collapse of communist
rule in East and Central Europe, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, decline of colonial
rule in Africa and the spread of democracy in Latin America and Asia. As a result of this
the number of democracies rose to 119 states. Only 45 percent of the world’s states (with
populations over one million) to be democratic.

The process of democratization has both internal and external actors for a more effective
and efficient transition. Internal actors in democratization include socioeconomic
modernization, social divisions, elite constellations, social movements and mass beliefs and
institutional factors in a given state. For successful completion of the above mentioned three
elements, it is absolutely necessary for external assistance. The external powers in
democratization process play a pivotal role to assist the populations in organizing and
overthrowing the authoritarian regime, to establish functioning political institutions, such as
an effective legal system and to stabilize and allow the instillation of the democratic regime.
Although it is the most effective way to democratize a country, the external process
sponsored by outside actors has several potential drawbacks. The democratizing country
should be aware of the assisting countries motives. In an attempt to better themselves, the
outside actors might attempt to install their ideologies into the democratizing country and it
has been noted that "superpowers signal their client states, discouraging or supporting
democratic reforms depending on their preferences".

4.3. Human Rights

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 4.3.1. Introduction
As a concept, human rights have been constantly evolving throughout human history. The
concept of human rights has been interwoven with laws, customs and religions throughout the
ages of human civilizations. The aspiration to protect the human dignity of all human beings
is at the core of the human rights movement. With the passage of time, the various
movements for freedom and equality in different parts of the world have made a
substantial contribution towards the growth of the term human rights. Strictly, the term
“human right” came into everyday language after World War II that replaced early notions
like “Natural rights “or “the rights of man” as well as the founding of the UN in 1945. In
addition, the prevalence of exploitation, oppression and persecution led to the emergence of
the consciousness about human rights. Thus it has been stated that the history of rights
reflects the various demands forwarded by human beings at different times and conditions.
But the milestone in the history of the development of the international human rights system
is the adoption of the UDHR on December 10, 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly
4.3.2. Meaning of Human Rights
Dear learner, much lip service is paid nowadays to the notion of human rights. At the same
time, these human rights are being violated all over the world. Human rights are a matter of
law, but they have increasingly become a matter of politics as well. Lawyers, politicians,
governments, non- government organizations and individual are involved in the protection as
well as violation of human rights.

Conceptually, Human rights are internationally agreed values, standards or rules regulating
the conduct of states towards their own citizens and non-citizens. According to the preamble
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Human rights are ‘a common
standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’. These rules, which states have
imposed upon themselves, serve to restrict the authority of states to act towards their entire
population i.e. citizens as well as non-citizens. This situation is different from the past, when
states, or rather their princes, were absolute sovereign who could treat their subjects in any
way they wanted. Nowadays, human beings have rights: human rights.

Human rights also refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled."
Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human
rights include civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.

A more common definition of human right is that they are universal legal guarantees
protecting individuals and groups against actions by governments, which interfere with

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fundamental freedoms and human dignity. Human rights law obliges governments to do
something better, and prevents them from doing wrongs. They are also universal moral rights
that belong equally to all people simply because they are human beings. In other words, they
are inherent. Human rights are also often described as generally accepted principles of
fairness and justice.
4.3.3. Basic Features of Human Rights
Dear learner, knowing the major features/characteristics of human rights will help you to
understand more about human rights and distinguish them from other rights. Human rights
have the following three basic features. These are: Human rights are universal, natural and
inalienable and interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.
A. Human rights are universal. They are rights to which every human being is entitled
irrespective of their difference in their sex, race, religion, nationality, social origin, color etc.
We have these rights by virtue of being a human. The universality character calls for their
respect and protection at all places and times. However, there are some challenges to the
universality of human rights. Because of the existence of various cultures across the world,
proponents of cultural relativism argue that human rights are relative to culture of a given
society and cannot be universal. Concerning to this controversy, the 1993 Vienna Convention
on Human Rights asserts that ‘human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birth rights of
all human beings, and the universal nature of the rights and freedoms is beyond question’.
Therefore, the universality of human rights has been generally accepted.
B. Human rights are natural and inalienable. As they are derived from inherent dignity of
human beings, human rights exist by nature. They are neither given nor deprived. By
inalienability, we mean that nobody can deprive anybody of these rights and nobody can
renounce them by him/herself. Therefore, what a political society does not to grant these
rights to human beings rather to recognize them and guarantee their respect and enforcement
through its laws and institutions.
C. Human rights are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. The respect for human
dignity requires the recognition and respect of the civil, political, economic, social, cultural
and other demands. All these demands of human beings deserve due attention. The
recognition and realization of economic and social rights is necessary for the realization of
civil and political rights and vice versa. As a result, the recognition and realization of one
right cannot be separated from the other. Therefore, all different sets of human rights shall be
recognized, respected and protected.
What other features do you know?
In addition to the above three basic characteristics, human rights have the following features:

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D) Human rights are eternal. As far as human society exists, human rights continue to
exist. In addition, any change in government and any change in social, political/economic
outlooks do not have any impact on human rights. This feature can be subsumed in the
universal character of human rights mentioned above.
E) Human rights contain the principles of equality and non-discrimination. There are no
human beings who are more than others. They have all equal dignity. Therefore, equal
dignity requires equal respect and treatment. Human rights are rights all human beings have
and any form of discrimination is not acceptable. Differential treatments are justified if and
only if there are well-grounded reasons (For example, well debated case of affirmative
action).
F) Human rights are not absolute. Rights are subjected to limitations/restrictions whenever
it is necessary to protect some legitimate public or individual interest. For instance, the right
to freedom of expression can be restricted to protect national security, public order, public
morals, or the reputations/rights of others.
4.3.4. Classification of Human Rights

Dear students, the classification of human rights facilitate our understanding of the contents
of human rights. However, there is no complete agreement on the classification of human
rights .This is because the difference on the grounds for and the purposes for classifications.
For instance, based on the type of the right holder human rights can be classified into;
individual rights and group rights. Human rights can also be classified based on the type of
state obligation as negative rights and positive rights.
How do we classify human rights?
However, the most-widely classification is the idea of three-generation rights proposed by the
French jurist Karel Vakas. This is a classification of rights based on their
evolution/generation in human history. He was inspired by the three themes of French
Revolution; Liberty, Equality and Solidarity. According to Vakas’s classification, human
rights are classified into three generations of rights.
1) First generation rights
2) Second generation rights
3) Third generation rights
However, some scholars assert that the term ‘generation’ is somewhat inappropriate. It
suggests a succession of phenomena, whereby a new generation takes the place of the
previous one. That is, however, not the case with the three ‘generations’ of human rights. On
the contrary, the idea is rather that the three ‘generations’ exist and be respected

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simultaneously. To that effect, the word ‘generations’ should have been replaced by
‘categories’.
1) First-Generation Rights
First generation rights include civil and political rights. They are primarily the result of the
17th and 18th century reformist theories associated with the English, American and French
Revolution. They are the result of liberal political philosophy of individualism. Civil and
political rights are considered to be expressed in a very precise language, imposing
merely negative obligations on states and they do not require so much resources for their
implementation, and which, therefore, can be applied immediately. However, civil and
political rights cannot be realized by mere non-interference. For example, the right to security
and the right to fair and public trial necessarily require positive state action.
The rights contained under Article 2-22 of the UDHR and most of the rights contained in the
ICCPR may be classified as first-generation rights. First-generation rights (Core rights) are
rights that are indispensable for an existence in human dignity and therefore need absolute
protection. They include;
 The right to life
 The right to liberty and security
 The right to equality
 Freedom from racial and other forms of discrimination
 Freedom from slavery or involuntary servitude
 Freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
 Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile
 The right to fair and public trial
 The right to privacy
 Freedom of movement
 Freedom of opinion and expression
 Freedom of peaceful assembly and association
2) Second Generation rights
The second generation rights are related to equality that including economic, social and
cultural rights. The origin of this generation of rights is associated with the socialist
movements of the 19th century and the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. They are considered to be
expressed in vague terms, imposing only positive obligations that are conditional on the
existence of available resources and therefore involving a progressive realization. However,
the right to equality and the principles of non-discrimination has to be implemented
immediately. So, the state has not only positive obligation, but also negative obligation, i.e.

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the obligation to refrain from violating these rights, particularly from taking what are called
retrogressive measures.
The rights contained under Article 22-27 of the UDHR and most of the rights contained in the
ICESCR may be classified as second-generation rights. These include
 The right to work and the ‘right in work’
 The right to form/join trade unions
 The right to education
 The right to social security
 The right to health
 The right to adequate standard of living
 The right to participate in cultural life
Moreover, cultural rights include the right to participate in the cultural life of one’s
community, to share in scientific advancement and the right to the protection of the moral and
material interests resulting from one’s scientific, literary or artistic production.
3) Third-Generation rights
These include collective or group rights. Some of these rights are associated with the
emergence of Third World nationalism and its demand for global redistribution of power,
wealth and other values. The third-generation rights include, but not limited to, the following;
 The right to self-determination (political, economic, social and cultural self-
determination)
 The right to development
 The right to participate in and benefit from the ‘common heritage of mankind’
 The right to peace
 The right to healthy and balanced environment
 The right to humanitarian disaster relief
 The right to one’s own natural resources
4.3.5. Human Rights Instruments
1) The United Nations Charter

United Nations (UN) is international organization of countries established to promote world

peace and cooperation. The UN was founded after World War II that ended in 1945. Its
mission is to maintain world peace, develop good relations between countries, promote
cooperation in solving the world’s problems, and encourage respect for human rights.
Member nations pledge to settle their disputes peacefully, to refrain from using force or the

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threat of force against other countries, and to refuse help to any country that opposes UN
actions.

Thought the Charter does not incorporate bill of rights, but its preamble reaffirms a faith in
international human rights, in the dignity and worth human persons, in the equal rights of
men and women of nations of large and small. Certain articles of the UN charter also make
reference to human rights and fundamental freedoms. For example Article 1(3) of the charter
states that “... promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”. The UN has also
prepared and adopted a number of international human right instruments. These include
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (1966), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights (1966). These three instruments are together called the International Bill of Rights.

2) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the UN
on 10 December 1948, with 48 votes in favor, 8 abstentions, none against it. Ethiopia as a
founding member of UN voted in favor of it. It contained civil, political, economic, social,
and cultural rights as well as the right to development. As its preamble states it was meant to
serve as ‘a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations’. It calls for states to
work for the realization of the rights contained therein. It was not intending to impose legal
obligation on states. As any declaration, it reflects mere moral commitments.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a statement affirming the dignity and rights of all
human beings. It is based on principles expressed in the UN Charter. The declaration is the
first section of a proposed three-part international covenant, or agreement, on human rights.
When adopted, the covenant will bind the participating nations in the same way as any
international treaty. The two remaining sections of the covenant amplify the initial
declaration in specific and enforceable terms. One is concerned with civil and political rights,
and the other with economic, social, and cultural rights.

Human rights were incorporated in these UN documents as a reaction to the outrageous

crimes against humanity committed by the National Socialists in Germany between 1933 and
1945. The torture and killing of more than six million Jews, gypsies, political opponents,
minorities and others was the largest-scale violation of fundamental human rights in modern

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times. Concepts such as ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ are inseparably linked to
this period in world history.

3) The Human Rights Covenants

With the goal of establishing mechanisms for enforcing the UDHR, the UN Commission on
Human Rights proceeded to draft two treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and its optional Protocol and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Together with the Universal Declaration,
they are commonly referred to as the International Bill of Human Rights.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted by the General
Assembly of UN in 1966, and came into force on March 23, 1976 after obtaining a minimum
ratification. The Covenant incorporate what is traditionally called first generation rights, i.e.
civil and political rights that include:

 the right to life (art. 6)

 freedom from torture and cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
(art. 7)
 freedom from slavery and servitude (art. 8)
 freedom from forced or compulsory labor (art. 8, para. 3)
 the right to liberty and security of person (art. 9 & 11)

The Covenants impose legal obligation on states that it to respect and enforce the rights
contained therein

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was adopted in 1966
and came into force in 1976. It incorporates most of the Declaration’s economic, social, and
cultural rights or second-generation rights. This is also binding on states that ratify it or
accede to it. It is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(CESCR), and covers rights such as:
 the right to work (Article 6);
 the right to form trade unions (Article 8);
 the right to social security (Article 9); and
 The right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, nutrition,
shelter, clothing, education and health services (Article 11).

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In mid-2008, 158 nations had ratified or acceded to the ICESCR. Australia became a party to
the ICESCR in 1976.

4.4. The Evolution and Development of Human Rights in Ethiopia

4.4.1. Human rights under the 1931constitution
Ethiopia had three written constitutions (in 1931, 1955 and 1987) before the 1995 FDRE
Constitution. The 1931 Constitution with its sole purpose of consolidating the power of the
monarch but it did not bother about problems of ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. For
the same reason any form of decentralization of government were contrary to the purpose of
the Constitution.
In this constitution, citizens are not assumed to have rights in the sense of entitlement
although they do assume duties towards the emperors (personally) and the government
(officially). The 1931 Constitution being an Imperial grant (to the beloved subjects), it did not
recognize human rights as such. Rather, it stressed duties while the notion of their being
“entitled” to special privileges and benefits depending on the whims and conjectures of the
Emperors from whom all benefits and privileges, and all justice and power, flows was
maintained.
4.4.2. Human rights under the 1955 revised constitution
Alike its predecessor the Revised Constitution solidified the absolutism of the monarchy. The
first two chapters were devoted to the institution of the monarchy, (the sacredness of the
person, the dignity of the Emperor and the Solomonic root of the dynasty, etc).
However, in 1955 revised constitution, there was recognition of a number of human rights in
the constitution (including the right to assembly, association, and election, etc) but often
constrained by the claw back clauses marked by the phrase such as “in accordance with the
law”, or “as shall be determined by law”. One of the pressing problems of the time was the
lack of access, on the part of the peasants, to economic “facilities” (such as land) that
undermined the economic freedoms of large proportion of the population

4.4.3. Human Rights under the 1987 Constitution in Ethiopia

During the time from 1974 to 1987, the state of human rights deteriorated both conceptually
and practically. One should note however that there was an emphasis, in rhetoric at least, on
the importance of respect for socio-economic and cultural rights although they are not
couched in words that reflect the notion of human rights. The redistribution of land and urban
houses emboldened some aspects of socioeconomic rights. The secularization of the state led
to the declaration of equality and non-discrimination on the basis of religion albeit much less

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to freedom of religion. Recognition of linguistic and cultural equality led to the denunciation
of discrimination on linguistic and cultural grounds.

This trend to emphasize socio-economic and cultural rights was continued in the 1987
Constitution of the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE). Nevertheless, the
constitution was overtaken by the nascent liberationist struggles that started in the wake of
the 1974 Revolution and mounted a pressure on the government until it fell in 1991.
4.4.4. Human rights in 1995 constitution
The Constitution devotes more than one third of its content to provisions on fundamental
human and people’s rights. It provided for a range of human and democratic rights under
Chapter III (Art 14-44). Fundamental rights and freedoms under Chapter III have been
distinguished as
• Human rights (Art. 14–28)
• Democratic rights (Art. 29–44)
Distinction further highlighted under Art. 10 which seem to emphasize that indeed there are
two categories of rights. Rights that originate from different considerations (one from a
simple fact of human nature, and another from being a ‘citizen or people’ of a given political
society); and seems to propound that democratic rights are those which may be denied based
on nationality, age or any other reasons as provided in a law of a given country e.g. the right
to vote and be elected which can't be enjoyable by a mere fact of being human being.

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