CAT/C/ETH/CO/1
5.
The Committee welcomes the fact that, in the period since the entry into force of the
Convention for the State party in 1994, the State party has ratified or acceded to the
following international and regional instruments:
(a)
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in 2010;
(b)
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in 1998.
6.
The Committee notes the efforts undertaken by the State party to reform its
legislation to ensure better protection of human rights, including the right not to be
subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in
particular:
(a)
The adoption in 1994 of a Federal Constitution which prohibits all forms of
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, provides for
humane treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, and bars the application of the statute
of limitation to crimes such as torture; and
(b)
The adoption in 2004 of the revised Criminal Code which criminalizes all
acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, sexual violence
and harmful traditional practices.
7.
The Committee notes the adoption by the State party of specific directives and
regulations guiding the conduct of law enforcement officers, the breach of which entails
disciplinary sanctions, dismissal or criminal prosecution:
(a)
44/1998;
(b)
(c)
137/2007;
The Federal Prosecutor Administration Council of Ministers Regulations No.
The Federal Police Commission Administration Regulations No. 86/2003;
The Federal Wardens Administration Council of Ministers Regulations No.
(d)
The Treatment of Federal Prisoners Council of Ministers Regulations No.
138/2007; and
(e)
The Defence Forces Administration Directive/Regulation.
8.
The Committee notes with appreciation that the State party was able to submit its
overdue reports to United Nations human rights treaty bodies under a joint treaty reporting
project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition of torture
9.
The Committee notes that the Federal Constitution of Ethiopia prohibits torture and
that article 424 of the revised Criminal Code contains a definition of the “use of improper
methods”. However, the Committee is concerned that this definition is more limited in
scope than the definition of torture in article 1 of the Convention, as it covers only some of
the purposes envisaged in article 1 and applies only to acts committed in the performance of
duties by public servants charged with the arrest, custody, supervision, escort or
interrogation of a person under suspicion, arrest, detention or summoned to appear before a
court or serving a sentence. The Committee notes that acts of torture falling outside the
definition in article 424 of the revised Criminal Code are punishable only under the offence
of “abuse of power”, although the Convention forms part of the domestic law in Ethiopia
(arts. 1 and 4).
2