The Right to Development in Ethiopia: Neither a Policy Framework nor a Vector of Human Rights

The right to development (RTD) was first pronounced in the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development (DRTD), and it has been embodied in many international and regional human rights instruments and policy documents. Ethiopia is one of the signatories of the DRTD, party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) and other key international instruments that make clear reference to the right to development. Although Ethiopia has expressly recognized the right to development under the 1995 (FDRE) Constitution, the contents and nature of the rights, right holders and duty bearers, and the purpose of development stated therein vary from the RTD stipulated under international instruments. Ethiopia's approach (in policy and strategy) and the process of development activities are not in conformity with the framework of the RTD. Complex issues that arise due to the slow pace of progress in RTD are attributable to a system that does not recognize society and its citizens as the central subject, beneficiaries, and ultimate participants in the process of development. This article argues that neither the Constitution nor the country's policies and strategies (issued and practiced) are in congruence with the tenets of the RTD. The deficit in the proper embodiment and adherence to the RTD in the Constitution, coupled with gaps in applying its principles into practice, can have detrimental effects on the country`s overall political, social and economic processes (and stability) over time. This article examines pertinent national, regional, and international instruments and literature using the qualitative method.