CEHRO Ethiopia

📍 Benishangul Gumuz   Following the CSO-Media CoP dialogue in Benishangul Gumuz, CoP members, comprising CSOs and media actors, organized a panel discussion in collaboration with regional media.   The panel focused on the post-election context, including electoral dispute resolution, civic participation, and pathways for peaceful and inclusive post-election transition. It brought together representatives from religious institutions, women and youth associations, political parties council, disability organizations, and the National Election Board of Ethiopia. Facilitated under the CEHRO and WHH-supported CoP platform, this initiative reflects the CoP’s growing ownership in advancing joint CSO–media engagement on governance and civic space issues.   The CSO-Media CoP in Benishangul Gumuz, coordinated by CEHRO in partnership with WHH, with the financial support of the EU, serves as a platform bringing together CSOs and media actors to strengthen collaboration on civic engagement and policy dialogue.

Round Two – CEHRO Online Coaching Registration: Media Relations & Digital Content Creation 📢 Registration is now open for the second round of CEHRO's online coaching on Media Relations & Digital Content Creation. 📝 Register through the link below: Registration Form We look forward to your participation!

Through this project, CEHRO and WHH aim to foster stronger partnerships between CSOs and regional institutions to advance human rights and democratic governance in the Afar and Tigray regions. #CEHRO #WHH #HumanRights #DemocraticGovernance #CivilSociety #Afar #Tigray #Ethiopia

📢 Project Launch Event Successfully Held The Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO), in collaboration with Welthungerhilfe (WHH), officially launched a new project titled “Strengthening the Commitment of Civil Society Organizations to Human Rights and Democracy in Afar and Tigray, Ethiopia” in Addis Ababa.   The event brought together representatives from the Afar and Tigray regions, federal government institutions, development partners, CSOs, and other key stakeholders. The program featured a welcome and a keynote speech, a presentation on the project's objectives and expected outcomes, and an engaging panel discussion on strengthening collaboration between CSOs and Regional State Institutions to advance human rights and democratic governance.   The panel discussion included representatives from the Afar and Tigray regions who shared insights on opportunities and challenges for enhancing civic engagement and promoting human rights at the regional level.

🗳 CEHRO Releases Election Day Observation Findings on Ethiopia’s 7th General Election   CEHRO has released its Election Day Observation Statement on the 7th General Election of Ethiopia.   The statement presents key findings from CEHRO’s observation mission conducted in Somali, Amhara, and Benishangul-Gumuz Regions, Addis Ababa, and Special Polling Stations serving internally displaced persons (IDPs). It highlights positive aspects of the electoral process, areas requiring improvement, findings from Special Polling Stations, and CEHRO’s recommendations.   📄 The statement is available in both English and Amharic in a single document.   🔗 Read the full statement here: https://cehro.org/now/report-publications/   #CEHRO #ElectionObservation #Ethiopia #Election2026 #HumanRights #Democracy #IDPs

💡 Through the sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences, participants identified key challenges, opportunities, and practical interventions within each thematic area.   🗳 At the conclusion of the forum, participants engaged in a voting process to select and prioritize one project concept for future implementation.   #CommunityParticipation #IDPs #Returnees #HostCommunities #Dessie #CommunityDrivenSolutions

📍 Participatory Forum (PF3) Successfully Conducted in Dessie, Ethiopia.   On June 9, 2026, the Participatory Forum (PF3) was successfully conducted in Dessie, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, including government representatives, NGOs, INGOs, community leaders, religious leaders, IDPs, returnees, and host community members to identify community-driven solutions and ensuring that the voices of IDPs, returnees, host communities, and other stakeholders are reflected in programming priorities.   🤝 Participants worked in three groups to further develop and finalize concept notes under three merged thematic areas:   🔹 Food Security and Safe Shelter 🔹 Sustainable Livelihoods and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) 🔹 Access to Documentation

📍 Participatory Forum (PF3) Successfully Conducted in Dessie, Ethiopia. On June 9, 2026, the Participatory Forum (PF3) was successfully conducted in Dessie, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, including government representatives, NGOs, INGOs, community leaders, religious leaders, IDPs, returnees, and host community members to identify community-driven solutions and ensuring that the voices of IDPs, returnees, host communities, and other stakeholders are reflected in programming priorities. 🤝 Participants worked in three groups to further develop and finalize concept notes under three merged thematic areas: 🔹 Food Security and Safe Shelter 🔹 Sustainable Livelihoods and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) 🔹 Access to Documentation 💡 Through the sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences, participants identified key challenges, opportunities, and practical interventions within each thematic area. 🗳 At the conclusion of the forum, participants engaged in a voting process to select and prioritize one project concept for future implementation. #CommunityParticipation #IDPs #Returnees #HostCommunities #Dessie #CommunityDrivenSolutions

🌙 Wishing you a blessed and meaningful Eid al-Adha 🌙   CEHRO wishes a peaceful and blessed Eid to our staff, member organizations, partners. #EidMubarak #CEHRO #Ethiopia #Solidarity #EidAlAdha

የመረጃ ተአማኒነት እና ያልተቋረጠ የበይነ-መረብ አገልግሎት በምርጫ ሂደቶች ውስጥ ወሳኝ ምሶሶዎች ናቸው። 🔻 አቶ መስዑድ ገበየሁ፣ የኢትዮጵያ ሰብዓዊ መብቶች ድርጅቶች ህብረት ዋና ዳይሬክተር ከመናኸሪያ ሬዲዮ ጋር ባደረጉት ቆይታ በምርጫ ወቅት ማህበራዊ ሚዲያዎች ለሀሰተኛ መረጃዎች እና ለጥላቻ ንግግሮች መስፋፋት ተጋላጭ በመሆናቸው ጥንቃቄ መደረግ እንደሚገባ አስገንዝበዋል። እንዲሁም በዘንድሮው የምርጫ ዝግጅት ከ5 ሚሊዮን በላይ መራጮች በኦንላይን መመዝገባቸውን በማስታወስ፣ ባለፉት ምርጫዎች እንደታየው የኢንተርኔት መቋረጥ እና መዘግየት እንዳይኖር የሚመለከታቸው ተቋማት በቁርጠኝነት መስራት እንዳለባቸው አሳስበዋል። ነፃ፣ ተደራሽ እና ያልተቋረጠ የመረጃ ፍሰት በምርጫ ወቅት የህዝብ ተሳትፎን፣ ግልጽነትን እና በሂደቱ ላይ ያለውን እምነት ለማጠናከር ወሳኝ ሚና አለው። የሚዲያ ነፃነት እና የዲጂታል መብቶች ጥበቃ ደግሞ ታማኝ፣ አሳታፊ እና ሰላማዊ የምርጫ ሂደት መሠረታዊ አካላት ናቸው። 🕊 በዓለም የፕሬስ ነፃነት ወር ዘመቻችን አካል፣ ኢሰመድህ በምርጫ ሂደቶች ወቅት የሚዲያ ነፃነትን፣ የዲጂታል መብቶችን፣ የመረጃ ተደራሽነትን እና ክፍት የሲቪክ ምህዳር ጥበቃን ማበረታታቱን ይቀጥላል።

Information integrity and uninterrupted internet access are key components in electoral processes 🔻 Speaking to Menaheria Radio, Mr. Mesud, CEHRO Executive Director, noted that social media platforms can become vulnerable to the spread of misinformation and hate speech during elections, requiring careful attention during electoral periods. He further emphasized that, with more than 5 million voters registered online during the current electoral process, relevant institutions should work with commitment to ensure that internet disruptions and connectivity delays do not occur as observed in previous general elections. Free, accessible, and uninterrupted flow of information plays a crucial role in strengthening public participation, transparency, and trust during elections. The protection of media freedom and digital rights is also fundamental to ensuring credible, inclusive, and peaceful electoral processes. 🕊 As part of our World Press Freedom Day 2026 campaign, CEHRO continues to advocate for the protection of media freedom, digital rights, access to information, and open civic space during electoral processes. #WorldPressFreedomDay #WPFD2026 #MediaFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #DigitalRights #Elections #Ethiopia

📢 Online Capacity Building Training on Civic Space Monitoring throughout Ethiopia’s 7th General Election**** The Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO) invites CEHRO members, NEBE-accredited CSOs working on civic and voter education, election observation, and other interested Civil Society Organizations to participate in an online training aimed at strengthening civic space monitoring throughout the electoral cycle. 📅 26 May 2026 | 🕒 3:00 PM (9:00 LT) 🔗 Register via this link: https://bit.ly/42I6SrH

🗳 CEHRO Hosts Policy Debate Among Political Parties and Civil Society Organizations As Ethiopia approaches its 7th General Election, the Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO), in partnership with EBS TV and with financial support from AHEAD Africa, organised an engaging and thought-provoking policy debate bringing together political parties and civil society organizations (CSOs). The debate engaged three parties known in the Ethiopian political landscape: ▪️ Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) ▪️ Coalition for Ethiopian Unity (CEU) ▪️ Peace for Ethiopian Coalition The discussion also included representatives from CEHRO, the Ethiopian Civil Society Forum (ESF), and the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU). 📺 The debate will air on EBS TV this Saturday. For more details: Read the full article here #CEHROEthiopia #AHEADAfrica #7thGeneralElection #PolicyDebate #Democracy #CivicEngagement #PeaceAndSecurity #EconomicPolicy #MediaFreedom #CivilSociety #PoliticalDialogue

During elections, independent journalism and open civic space are essential to:  Ensure access to credible information  Promote transparency and accountability  Counter misinformation and hate speech  Amplify diverse and marginalized voices  Support peaceful public participation This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme, “Shaping a Future at Peace: Advancing Media Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security,” reminds us that free expression and independent media are central to democracy, human rights, and sustainable peace. #WorldPressFreedomDay #WPFD2026 #MediaFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #CivicSpace #Elections #HumanRights #EthiopianMedia

This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme, “Shaping a Future at Peace: Advancing Media Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security,” reminds us that free expression and independent media are central to democracy, human rights, and sustainable peace. #WorldPressFreedomDay #WPFD2026 #MediaFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #CivicSpace #Elections #HumanRights #EthiopianMedia

As part of our World Press Freedom Day 2026 campaign, CEHRO, in collaboration with UNESCO and OHCHR, recently conducted a national workshop on: “Strengthening Human Rights Monitoring, Freedom of Expression, and Civic Space Advocacy During Elections.” The workshop brought together journalists and media professionals from different regions of the country for discussions and training on the role of media freedom, civic space, and human rights monitoring in promoting peaceful, inclusive, and credible electoral processes. The sessions focused on:  Freedom of expression during elections  Responsible and rights-based election reporting  Human rights monitoring and documentation  Challenges facing journalists and civic actors during electoral periods  The role of media in countering misinformation and promoting peaceful public dialogue

🕊 CEHRO is honored to take part in the celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2026 under the theme: “Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security.” Today, at Elilly International Hotel, in collaboration with UNESCO, Ethiopian Media Council, and IMS, CEHRO joined journalists, civil society organizations, and media stakeholders to reflect on the importance of press freedom in building peaceful, democratic, and inclusive societies. As part of the session, Mesud Gebeyehu participated in a panel discussion, contributing insights on the protection of civic space, media freedom, and the role of independent journalism in advancing human rights and accountability in Ethiopia. #WorldPressFreedomDay #PressFreedom #MediaFreedom #HumanRights #CEHROEthiopia