US funding for human rights organizations

The United States embassy in Addis Ababa launched on Monday a small grants scheme worth $360,000 to support human rights organisations in Ethiopia. Aurelia Brazeal, the US ambassador to Ethiopia, said 43 local organisations and charities would benefit from the scheme, aimed at helping to bolster democracy in the country. Ms Brazeal told representatives of human and civil rights organisations that fostering political pluralism and enhancing economic development would enable people to resist the lure of “extremists”. “We all have a common interest in improving the lives of the Ethiopian people,” she said at the launch of the scheme in the US embassy in Addis Ababa. “We believe that political pluralism and economic security are strengthened at the grassroots level and are not only important, but also necessary components of a democracy.” Ms Brazeal said the grants to human rights groups aimed to “empower” women and minority groups, increase literacy, and improve economic growth. “A healthier Ethiopian economy and democracy means less dependence on donor nations,” she noted. “An improved life for all can only be built through building, not destroying, through hope, not despair. These grants are an important part of this ongoing process.” In its most recent human rights report on Ethiopia, released in March, the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor said Ethiopian security forces had killed up to 1,500 people in 2002. The report stated that the Ethiopian government’s human rights record “remained poor”.