ACDD - Advocacy Center for Democracy & Development

19/09/2026

✨ Join Us this Thursday! ✨
ACDD - Advocacy Center for Democracy & Development
On the International Day of Peace, we come together under the theme:
🕊 “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” 🌍
📅 Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026
🕑 Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM (EAT)
💻 Virtual Event
🎙 Hear from speakers with diverse expertise sharing perspectives on Peacebuilding, Women, Peace and Security (WPS), UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and Ethiopia’s National Action Plan on WPS connecting grassroots experiences with national and policy perspectives.

👉 Join us for this important commemoration as we reflect, connect, and explore how we can invest in peace for everyone, everywhere, every day!

17/08/2026

A central feature of the DIMTS National Convening in Addis Ababa was the interactive exhibition spanning six thematic and regional stands. Partner organizations, victims' groups, and civil society actors presented their context-specific project models, empirical evidence, and knowledge products developed across the Amhara, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray regions. Delegates explored a comprehensive catalog of more than 20 research reports, policy briefs, advocacy tools, and community sensitization materials designed to inform national policy and ground future interventions in field-based evidence. Rather than treating transitional justice as an abstract policy exercise, the exhibition offered a practical demonstration of what victim-centered, gender-transformative, and trauma-informed approaches look like in practice.
High-level representatives from state institutions—including the Ministry of Justice and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission—alongside international partners engaged directly with these tested process models and scalable frameworks. The interactive format allowed delegates to walk through regional models of co-creation and co-implementation that put victims and women at the center of truth-seeking, mental health support, and advocacy. These research outputs and regional tools will serve as important foundational contributions to inform Ethiopia’s upcoming legal and institutional frameworks as the national transitional justice process moves toward operationalization. Civil society actors and government institutions now have access to a rich, field-tested repository of evidence to carry forward, ensuring that future mechanisms do not have to start from zero.
🔗 Scan the QR code to access and download the full suite of DIMTS publications, policy briefs, and knowledge products.

International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)



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15/08/2026

Translating Lived Experiences into Actionable Policy: Key Insights from the DIMTS Panel Discussions
Across two days at the DIMTS National Convening in Addis Ababa, multi-stakeholder panel discussions brought together grassroots leaders, legal experts, human rights actors, and government officials to define the future of Ethiopia’s transitional justice process.
The panels tackled critical themes necessary for a credible, victim-centered framework:
Grassroots Realities & Safe Spaces: Panelists highlighted innovative methodologies like the "Pivot Theory"—creating temporary, trauma-informed, women-only spaces to allow survivors to speak safely before engaging in public justice mechanisms —and the "Return Model" for systematically integrating community voices directly into policy drafts.
Non-Negotiable Policy Demands: Representatives from the Gender Reference Group and regional partners put forward essential requirements, including a mandatory 30% to 50% quota for female leadership in transitional justice institutions, absolute non-amenability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV), an independent reparations trust fund, and the explicit recognition of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) as a fundamental right.
Institutional Responsiveness: High-level representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and the European Union Delegation discussed the transition from civil society groundwork to national implementation, confirming that DIMTS community evidence and publications will directly inform upcoming legal frameworks and national input sessions.
By bridging grassroots evidence with high-level institutional dialogue, these discussions underscored that sustainable healing relies on victims acting not merely as beneficiaries, but as the primary architects of justice.

International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)


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13/08/2026

"Dhugga" means Truth—and true justice requires facing the full spectrum of inherited exclusion. The documentary "DHUGGA: Inherited Exclusion" frames Ethiopia's transitional justice discourse by demonstrating that historical socio-economic harms are civic/political and socio economic rights that must be remedied. Through vivid personal testimonies, the film and its companion handbook illustrate how women have been systematically placed at the bottom of multiple hierarchies, facing a staggering primary school dropout rate, severe land tenure insecurity, and absolute exclusion from executive decision-making spaces. Addressing recent conflict-related physical violence alone treats only the symptoms of past abuses while leaving root causes untouched. To achieve genuine, gender-transformative healing, historical land dispossession must be met with restitution authority, educational barriers dismantled, and women placed directly in the "driver's seat" of leadership. Advocates called on decision-makers to close the "South African gap" by extending institutional reform beyond security sectors to land governance, establishing an independent gender chamber, and guaranteeing community reparations like schools and healthcare facilities.
🔗 Access "DHUGGA: Inherited Exclusion" and the sensitization and advocacy handbook here: Dhugga- Inherited Exculsion https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rOQe7XIqRn3mdQXdww8SSZJamWjd7PXq

12/08/2026

"You have started this work and made our work easier." — H.E. Mr. Belayhun Yirga Kifile, State Minister of Justice of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
With these words, the Ministry of Justice recognized the foundational work laid by civil society as over 100 representatives from CSOs, victims' associations, government institutions, and international agencies gathered in Addis Ababa on July 9–10 for "Transitional Justice in Action: Victims' Associations and CSOs"—the national convening and conclusion of DIMTS.
Funded by the European Union and technical partners International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and ACDD, DIMTS has brought together 9 victims' associations and 14 CSOs across the Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, and Somali regions to establish a grounded, victim-centered, gender transformative and trauma-informed approach to transitional justice. A major key moment came as H.E. Mr. Belayhun Yirga Kifile announced that the Government of Ethiopia has officially commenced preparatory work for operationalizing the National Transitional Justice Policy.
Through panel discussions, testimonies, and an exhibition featuring over 20 research reports, policy briefs, and advocacy tools, the two-day event demonstrated that inclusive transitional justice is already taking root on the ground. As the program transitions toward greater collective ownership, the evidence, regional models, and practice tools created through DIMTS stand ready to serve as essential building blocks for Ethiopia’s upcoming legal and institutional frameworks.
🔗 https://bit.ly/dimtsoutputs
Scan the QR code to access the complete catalog of publications and policy briefs developed by DIMTS partners.


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11/08/2026

Check out the latest article covering the DIMTS National Convening, highlighting the renewed commitments of the Government of Ethiopia and the European Union to advancing a victim-centered, trauma-informed, gender transformative and inclusive transitional justice process. The coverage emphasizes how the groundwork, evidence, and 20+ knowledge products developed by 14 CSOs and 9 victims' associations across Amhara, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray are helping shape national implementation.

🔗 Read the full coverage here: https://press.et/share/en-stories/41rsq180hqpgq12vvz1z38qzdv

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07/08/2026

Government and EU Pledge to Sustain Victim-Centered Transitional Justice as DIMTS Closes
Addis Ababa, 13 July 2026 — The Government of Ethiopia pledged to build on the achievements of civil society and victims' groups and to resume the transitional justice process by operationalizing its mandated institutions, while the European Union committed to sustained support, at the national convening and closing of DIMTS held in Addis Ababa on 9–10 July.
Over the past two years, DIMTS — funded by the European Union and led by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Advocacy Center for Democracy and Development (ACDD) — strengthened the capacities of 14 civil society organizations and nine victims' associations across four regions: Amhara, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray. Capacity building went beyond training, pairing hands-on learning with the co-implementation of six projects spanning key thematic areas: truth-seeking and meaningful victim participation, conflict-related sexual violence and stigma reduction, customary and traditional justice mechanisms, gendered exclusion and socioeconomic harms, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and community advocacy for reparations. Each project applied contextualized, victim-centered, and gender-transformative approaches, producing scalable models built with victims and women — not merely about them — alongside more than 20 publications showcased across six thematic and regional exhibition stands.
Addressing more than 100 participants, H.E. Mr. Belayhun Yirga Kifile, State Minister of Justice, pledged to work together with the partners of Dimts, building on what has been achieved. "Once the National Dialogue is complete, transitional justice will be operationalized. We are committed as one stakeholder — the Government," he said, adding: "You have started this work and made our work easier."
Ms. Anna Lixi, Governance and Peace Lead at the EU Delegation, pledged the EU's sustained support to Ethiopia's transitional justice process — encompassing civil society, victims' groups, and government institutions — and committed to mainstreaming and focusing on MHPSS and healing as a matter of victims' rights.
As Samrawit Tassew, Head of ICTJ's Ethiopia Program, framed it: "This is the closure of one chapter of our journey to healing and justice — and it will go on.

30/06/2026

Women’s Voices. Women’s Leadership. Women’s Peacebuilding.
📍 Inter-Luxury Hotel, Addis Ababa
The Second Regional Peace Forum on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) was successfully convened under ACDD’s “Women Count for Peace” Project, implemented with the financial support from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) , and in partnership with ELiDA Ethiopia and ትምራን Timran bringing together government representatives, women-led organizations, civil society actors, peacebuilders, academia, media, political parties, customary leaders, and gender and peace experts.
The forum provided a platform for dialogue, experience sharing, and collective reflection on advancing women’s meaningful participation in peacebuilding and decision-making processes. Discussions featured key presentations on the Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan process and current status by a member of the NAP technical committee, a panel discussion on the role ofCSOs and other NGOs in advocating for the WPS agenda, and reflections on strengthening collaborative efforts.
A key outcome of the forum was the development, presentation, and endorsement of a position paper advocating for accelerated measures toward the adoption and effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
ACDD continues to strengthen platforms that amplify women’s voices, advance women’s leadership, and contribute to inclusive and sustainable peace. ✨


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28/06/2026

10/12/2025

ACDD፣ Kelem Ethiopia እና ፕሮ-ደቨሎፕመንት ኔትዎርክ (PDN) ጋር በመተባበር “በሁሉም ሴቶችና ልጃገረዶች ላይ የሚደርስ የዲጂታል ጥቃት እንዲበቃ በጋራ እንቁም!” በሚል መሪ ቃል የተሰየመውን 16 ቀናት የአክቲቪዝም ቀን አክብረዋል። በዚህ ዝግጅት ላይ የድርጅታችን ዳይሬክተር አቶ ዑስማን የሱፍ በነዚህ ቀናት ለምን በልዩ ትኩረት መስራት እንዳስፈለገና በመታሰቢያ ቃሉ ግንዛቤና ጥንቃቄ ከዚህ ጊዜም ባሻገር መቀጠል እንዳለባቸው አስታውሰው፣ በድርጅታችን ውስጥም ሆነ ውጭ ባሉን ስራዎቻችን በልዩ ትኩረት ተቀናጅተው መተግበር እንዳለባቸው አስገንዝበዋል።
በተጨማሪም የACDDን በእለት ከእለት የስራ እንቅስቃሴ በስርዓተ–ፆታና ከለላ ለሚሹ ጉዳዮችና አካላት በልዩ ትኩረትና ቁርጠኝነት መስራታቸውን እንደሚቀጥሉ አስረድተዋል። ይህ ዝግጅት አጋር ድርጅቶች በማሰባሰብ፣ ልምድ ለማጋራትና ነጻ ውይይት ለመድረግ የሚያስችለውን እድልን ፈጥሯል።
በአንድነት እንደገና እናረጋግጣለን፦ እንቅስቃሴና ዉትወታ ወቅታዊ ስራ አይደለም፤ ቀጣይነት ያለው ቁርጠኝነት ነው።

ACDD joined hands with Kelem Ethiopia and PDN to mark 16 Days of Activism under the theme “UNiTE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls”. At the event, our Executive Director Mr. Ousman Yesuf addressed why these days matter reminding us that awareness and vigilance must extend beyond this period, guiding every action we take within our work and our organization.

He shared ACDD’s ongoing commitment to gender sensitivity and safeguarding, highlighting concrete experiences and lessons learned. This gathering also created a platform for partner organizations to come together, exchange experiences, and engage in open discussion.

Together, we reaffirm: activism is not a season it’s a continual commitment.