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The role of national human rights institutions in enforcing social and economic rights : a case-study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia

Mohammed Abdo (UGent)
(2015)
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(UGent)
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Abstract
Bearing in mind the potential added value National human rights institutions (NHRIs) bring to the protection of human rights, NHRIs are commonly cited as potentially having vital role in promoting and protecting social and economic rights. In spite of this claim, the enabling Acts defining mandate of most NHRIs do not explicitly refer to social and economic rights. Although the mood is steadily changing, NHRIs tends to focus on protecting a set of civil and political rights to the relative neglect of social and economic rights. Despite lack of explicit reference in its enabling legislation, the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia has been dealing with social and economic rights since commencing its operation in 2005. The thrust of this dissertation is to examine how the Commission has in practice exercised its functions to promote and protect social and economic rights in light of a challenging setting to define social and economic rights mandate. It assesses the Commission’s strengths and weaknesses in enforcing social and economic rights by reviewing its various promotional and protection undertakings and its overall modus operandi. Considering its existing practice, it is argued that the Commission’s voice is less prominent in the field of social and economic rights as it paid little attention to them compared to civil and political rights. It also is maintained that both external factors (such as lack of strong and legally enforceable constitutional provisions on social and economic rights, and the local context of the Commission’s establishment) and internal factors (such as limitations to the Commission’s institutional capacity and organizational set up) have thwarted the Commission from giving a reasonable degree of attention to social and economic rights. The dissertation suggests areas of institutional, organizational and legal reforms to enhance the Commission’s effectiveness in implementing its mandated functions to promote and protect social and economic rights.
Keywords
promotion and protection of of social and economic rights, NHRIs, interdependence of human rights, social and economic rights, Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia

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Citation

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MLA
Abdo, Mohammed. The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in Enforcing Social and Economic Rights : A Case-Study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia. Ghent University. Faculty of Law, 2015.
APA
Abdo, M. (2015). The role of national human rights institutions in enforcing social and economic rights : a case-study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia. Ghent University. Faculty of Law, Ghent, Belgium.
Chicago author-date
Abdo, Mohammed. 2015. “The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in Enforcing Social and Economic Rights : A Case-Study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia.” Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Law.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Abdo, Mohammed. 2015. “The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in Enforcing Social and Economic Rights : A Case-Study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia.” Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Law.
Vancouver
1.
Abdo M. The role of national human rights institutions in enforcing social and economic rights : a case-study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia. [Ghent, Belgium]: Ghent University. Faculty of Law; 2015.
IEEE
[1]
M. Abdo, “The role of national human rights institutions in enforcing social and economic rights : a case-study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia,” Ghent University. Faculty of Law, Ghent, Belgium, 2015.
@phdthesis{5845632,
  abstract     = {{Bearing in mind the potential added value National human rights institutions (NHRIs) bring to the protection of human rights, NHRIs are commonly cited as potentially having vital role in promoting and protecting social and economic rights. In spite of this claim, the enabling Acts defining mandate of most NHRIs do not explicitly refer to social and economic rights. Although the mood is steadily changing, NHRIs tends to focus on protecting a set of civil and political rights to the relative neglect of social and economic rights. 
Despite lack of explicit reference in its enabling legislation, the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia has been dealing with social and economic rights since commencing its operation in 2005.  The thrust of this dissertation is to examine how the Commission has in practice exercised its functions to promote and protect social and economic rights in light of a challenging setting to define social and economic rights mandate. It assesses the Commission’s strengths and weaknesses in enforcing social and economic rights by reviewing its various promotional and protection undertakings and its overall modus operandi. Considering its existing practice, it is argued that the Commission’s voice is less prominent in the field of social and economic rights as it paid little attention to them compared to civil and political rights. It also is maintained that both external factors (such as lack of strong and legally enforceable constitutional provisions on social and economic rights, and the local context of the Commission’s establishment) and internal factors (such as limitations to the Commission’s institutional capacity and organizational set up) have thwarted the Commission from giving a reasonable degree of attention to social and economic rights. The dissertation suggests areas of institutional, organizational and legal reforms to enhance the Commission’s effectiveness in implementing its mandated functions to promote and protect social and economic rights.}},
  author       = {{Abdo, Mohammed}},
  keywords     = {{promotion and protection of of social and economic rights,NHRIs,interdependence of human rights,social and economic rights,Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{341}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Law}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{The role of national human rights institutions in enforcing social and economic rights : a case-study of the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}