A/HRC/44/49/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 34/18, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, undertook an official visit to Ethiopia from 2 to 9 December 2019 at the invitation of the Government. The main objective of the visit was to assess the situation of freedom of expression in the country in the context of the State’s obligations under international human rights law. 2. The Special Rapporteur held various meetings in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar. He and his team met with government officials, including the Minister of Peace and the Minister of Innovation and Technology, and with representatives of the Office of the Attorney General, the Federal Police Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the legislative and judicial branches – including the Chair and members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Legal and Justice Affairs, and the President and Vice-Presidents of the Federal High Court, respectively. He also met with the Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, members of the National Election Board of Ethiopia, the Director of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority, the Director and Deputy Director of the Agency for Civil Society Organizations, and members of the Advisory Council for Legal and Justice Affairs. 3. The Special Rapporteur also met with journalists, lawyers, academics, students and civil society representatives. He would like to thank all those individuals he met for their hospitality and openness in sharing their experiences with him. 4. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government for inviting him to undertake the visit and for facilitating government meetings. He also thanks the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including the East Africa Regional Office, for their valuable support prior to and during the visit. II. Background 5. In April 2018, a new administration took office under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. In his first few months in office, the Prime Minister initiated major reforms, including with a view to enhancing freedom of expression. The Government lifted the state of emergency, freed journalists and political prisoners, authorized the operation of previously banned opposition groups, halted rampant government censorship, and charged a number of military and civilian figures with corruption. The Government continued by launching a formal process of legal and institutional reform, introducing a public participatory process of legislative drafting and advice, which the Special Rapporteur considers to be a model for democratic processes worldwide. Applying this model, Ethiopia adopted a progressive law on civil society organizations, revised its legislation to counter terrorism, and is now in the process of considering other laws relating to the media and access to information, police use of force and accountability, and computer crime. In May 2019, Ethiopia hosted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Press Freedom Day conference in Addis Ababa. The Government announced that freedom of opinion and expression would be “one of the areas of focus in the ongoing political reforms”.1 6. Subsequent to his visit, the Special Rapporteur has learned that, following an assessment of the impact that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic may have in the country, the National Election Board of Ethiopia has decided to suspend operations for the national elections that were scheduled to take place in August 2020. The Government has not announced a rescheduled date for the elections. Under the previous administration, elections had been marked by government crackdowns on protests and Internet shutdowns, which imposed a severe constraint on the media’s ability to report on elections and on participation by individuals in decision-making processes. After bans on several opposition 1 A/HRC/WG.6/33/ETH/1, para. 55. 3