Ethiopia lessons in repression: violations of academic problems, HRW
Ethiopia lessons in repression: violations of academic problems, HRW
Ethiopia lessons in repression: violations of academic problems, HRW
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>academic</strong> freedom, and freedom <strong>of</strong> association for teach<strong>in</strong>g personnel, which it called a “fundamental truism”:<br />
“the status <strong>of</strong> teachers and the status <strong>of</strong> education are so <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong>ed that whatever produces change <strong>in</strong> the one will<br />
normally produce changes <strong>in</strong> the same direction <strong>in</strong> the other.” 254<br />
CEART has repeatedly called on the <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n government to expla<strong>in</strong> its denial <strong>of</strong> freedom <strong>of</strong> association<br />
and its generally poor record on educational policy. In its most recent report (<strong>in</strong> 2000), CEART concluded:<br />
There were clear <strong>in</strong>dications that one <strong>of</strong> the key f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs and recommendations that the Jo<strong>in</strong>t<br />
Committee made <strong>in</strong> 1997, namely that the Government should seek to restore a healthy<br />
partnership with teachers and the ETA <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>of</strong> <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n education and with due regard<br />
to the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation, 1996, has been largely ignored. The evidence . . .<br />
underscores the cont<strong>in</strong>ued allegations <strong>of</strong> harassment and refusal to consult with ETA. 255<br />
The ILO’s Committee on Freedom <strong>of</strong> Association has, s<strong>in</strong>ce 1996, annually called on the <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n<br />
government to allow the ETA to function freely, to provide due process to deta<strong>in</strong>ed ETA members, to cease<br />
harassment and <strong>in</strong>timidation <strong>of</strong> ETA members, and to <strong>in</strong>vestigate the 1997 assass<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> Assefa Maru. The<br />
conclusions were based on detailed <strong>in</strong>formation submitted by ETA and Education International, an <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
federation <strong>of</strong> teachers’ unions. In 2001, the ILO’s Govern<strong>in</strong>g Body—the chief decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g body <strong>of</strong> the<br />
organization, represent<strong>in</strong>g governments, bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong>terests, and trade unions—endorsed these conclusions and<br />
urged the <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n government to respond to the compla<strong>in</strong>ts. F<strong>in</strong>ally respond<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 1997 after several ILO<br />
requests for <strong>in</strong>formation, the <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n government aga<strong>in</strong>, without support<strong>in</strong>g evidence, simply accused Dr. Taye<br />
Woldesemayat and the other <strong>in</strong>carcerated leaders <strong>of</strong> the ETA <strong>of</strong> “armed rebellion and <strong>of</strong> terrorist activities aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
the government.” The government failed to address any <strong>of</strong> the ETA’s compla<strong>in</strong>ts. 256<br />
University Autonomy<br />
The second category <strong>of</strong> rights compris<strong>in</strong>g <strong>academic</strong> freedom is the collective right <strong>of</strong> the <strong>academic</strong><br />
community to pursue its mission. Institutional autonomy is essential for fulfillment <strong>of</strong> this right. This concept is<br />
most <strong>of</strong>ten <strong>in</strong>voked when address<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>of</strong> higher education where, historically, students as well as<br />
educators are adults who operate <strong>in</strong> a sett<strong>in</strong>g that is <strong>in</strong>tellectually—and <strong>of</strong>ten physically—dist<strong>in</strong>ct from its<br />
surround<strong>in</strong>gs. UNESCO, <strong>in</strong> its 1997 declaration on the role <strong>of</strong> higher-education personnel, described autonomy<br />
as “the <strong>in</strong>stitutional form <strong>of</strong> <strong>academic</strong> freedom and a necessary precondition to guarantee the proper fulfillment <strong>of</strong><br />
the functions entrusted to higher-education teach<strong>in</strong>g personnel and <strong>in</strong>stitutions.” 257 The ESCR Committee<br />
expanded on this def<strong>in</strong>ition <strong>in</strong> its discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>academic</strong> freedom: “the enjoyment <strong>of</strong> <strong>academic</strong> freedom requires<br />
the autonomy <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>of</strong> higher education. Autonomy is that degree <strong>of</strong> self-governance necessary for<br />
effective decision-mak<strong>in</strong>g by <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>of</strong> higher education <strong>in</strong> relation to their <strong>academic</strong> work, standards,<br />
management and related activities.” 258<br />
Institutional autonomy does not mean that educational <strong>in</strong>stitutions are free to operate as they please. In<br />
fact, the ESCR Committee explicitly states that autonomy must be balanced aga<strong>in</strong>st accountability to the public’s<br />
needs and demands. 259 But it has been demonstrated repeatedly that educational <strong>in</strong>stitutions can only meet their<br />
obligations to society—primarily satisfy<strong>in</strong>g the right <strong>of</strong> all <strong>in</strong>dividuals to education—if educators, staff, and<br />
students are free as a community to “enhance their prospective function, through the ongo<strong>in</strong>g analysis <strong>of</strong> emergent<br />
improvements are communicated to the Govern<strong>in</strong>g Body <strong>of</strong> the ILO and the Executive Board <strong>of</strong> UNESCO to be conveyed to<br />
the states’ parties.<br />
254 Jo<strong>in</strong>t ILO/UNESCO Committee <strong>of</strong> Experts on the Application <strong>of</strong> the Recommendation concern<strong>in</strong>g the Status <strong>of</strong> Teachers,<br />
Report <strong>of</strong> the Seventh Session (2000), para. 59, CEART/7/2000/10.<br />
255 Ibid, Appendix C, Allegation Received from Education International and the <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n Teachers’ Association, para. 10.<br />
256 Ibid, paras. 6, 10.<br />
257 UNESCO, Recommendation concern<strong>in</strong>g the status <strong>of</strong> Higher-Education Teach<strong>in</strong>g Personnel, para.18, 1997.<br />
258 ECSCR Committee, Gen. Com. No. 13, para. 40.<br />
259 Ibid.<br />
Human Rights Watch<br />
48<br />
January 2003, Vol. 15,No. 2 (A)