Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center-EHRDC

Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center-EHRDC Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center-EHRDC, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Friendship Business Center, Bole Sub city, Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization established with the vision of creating and strengthening a countrywide network of human rights defenders.

From Survival to Leadership: Recognizing GBV Survivor Women Human Rights Defenders.
20/05/2026

From Survival to Leadership: Recognizing GBV Survivor Women Human Rights Defenders.





Change happens when communities step forward together with responsibility and courage.In partnership with the French Emb...
21/04/2026

Change happens when communities step forward together with responsibility and courage.

In partnership with the French Embassy in Ethiopia, EHRDC conducted capacity-building trainings aimed at strengthening the formation of Male Champion Groups of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) as part of a community-driven response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The sessions were held across Afar, Amhara, Somali, Tigray, and Addis Ababa, bringing together diverse HRDs.

The training created a safe and reflective space where male HRDs and champions engage in meaningful dialogue. HRDs openly discussed the realities in their communities, challenged harmful social norms, and explored practical ways to prevent GBV and support survivors with dignity and care.

As the discussion deepened, a strong sense of responsibility and solidarity emerged. Many HRDs expressed their commitment to continue these conversations and to take action within their own communities, as allies, advocates, and changemakers.

We believe this initiative highlights the critical role of engaging male HRD champions in building effective and inclusive responses to violence.


💜Standing Strong: Shared learning and solidarity 🌸EHRDC, in partnership with the French Embassy, conducted Psychosocial ...
16/04/2026

💜Standing Strong: Shared learning and solidarity 🌸

EHRDC, in partnership with the French Embassy, conducted Psychosocial Support trainings for Women Human Rights Defenders who are also GBV survivors in Afar, Amhara, Somali, and Tigray.

These are women who have experienced violence themselves, yet continue to stand at the frontline defending the rights of others. Holding both roles, survivor and defender, comes with deep emotional weight and risk of re-traumatization, making Psychosocial support essential, not optional.

The trainings created safe spaces for healing, reflection, and practical skills to manage stress and support peers. Together, participants are strengthening their resilience and continuing their vital work with courage, dignity, and hope.




Marking a Month of Strength, Solidarity, and ResilienceAs we conclude a month dedicated to reflection and advocacy aroun...
01/04/2026

Marking a Month of Strength, Solidarity, and Resilience

As we conclude a month dedicated to reflection and advocacy around International Women’s Day, we celebrate the resilience, courage, and leadership of Women Human Rights Defenders advancing equality and justice. Their strength in the face of challenges continues to inspire meaningful change.

At EHRDC, we honor those leading this work and the importance of strong, supportive allies who stand beside them. 💜

As we conclude a month dedicated to celebrating women’s rights, we proudly acknowledge and celebrate the frontline Women Human Rights Defenders, along with the dedicated EHRDC staff, whose unwavering support makes their vital work possible and impactful.

💜Her Talk, Her Walk ንግግሯ ተግባሯ💜As March comes to a close, a month celebrating women worldwide and the spirit of Internat...
01/04/2026

💜Her Talk, Her Walk
ንግግሯ ተግባሯ💜
As March comes to a close, a month celebrating women worldwide and the spirit of International Women’s Day, we are proud to share moments from the 4th edition of Her Talk, Her Walk, a platform focusing on diverse issues on women’s rights by sharing Women Human Rights Defenders' journey.

EHRDC, in collaboration with the French Embassy, hosted this year’s impactful gathering under the theme “Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Survivors Human Rights Defenders.”

This special edition highlighted the strength, healing, and resilience of three (3) Women Human Rights Defenders who have experienced different forms of GBV, including economic, physical, and harmful traditional practices. Through courageous storytelling and open dialogue, the speakers shared their journeys. The session concluded with reflections from a seasoned mental health expert, who emphasized the speakers’ resilience and that of other HRDs, offered practical steps forward by reflecting on and synthesizing the speakers’ journeys, and underscored the shared responsibility to support GBV survivor HRDs.

Together, we continue to amplify voices, foster healing, and stand in solidarity, not just in March, but every day. 💜

ተግባሯ
💜

✨ One Last Thank You for Making This Milestone Possible ✨የ5ኛው የምስረታ በዓላችንን እና የአመቱ ምርጥ የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ሽልማት የመጨረሻው መልዕክታ...
30/03/2026

✨ One Last Thank You for Making This Milestone Possible ✨

የ5ኛው የምስረታ በዓላችንን እና የአመቱ ምርጥ የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ሽልማት የመጨረሻው መልዕክታችን ምስጋና ነው፡፡

ይህ ስኬት በመላው አገሪቱ የምትገኙ የሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ውጤት ሲሆን የእናንተ ጥንካሬ ለስራችን ብርታት ነው፡፡በዚሁ አጋጣሚ ምንግዜም ከጎናችሁ መሆናችንን ለመግለፅ እንወዳለን።

ለቦርዳችን፣ለማዕከሉ ሰራተኞችና ጓደኞቻችን ይህ የስኬት ጉዞ የእናንተን ቁርጠኝነትና በየቀኑ የምታሳዩት የትጋት ውጤት ስለሆነ እጅግ በጣም እናመሰግናለን፡፡

As our final post marking our 5th Anniversary and the Human Rights Defender of the Year Award, we simply want to say: thank you.

This milestone belongs to the brave human rights defenders across the country, your courage inspires everything we do. We stand with you, always.

To our Board and our incredible EHRDC team and friends, this milestone is a reflection of your commitment and passion. Thank you for your guidance, dedication, and tireless commitment.

Here’s to continuing the journey together.



✨ Celebrating Strong Partnerships for Change! ✨ድርጅታችን የተቋቋመበትን አላማዎች ከግብ ለማድረስ በምናደርገው ጥረት ሁሉ ከጎናችን በመቆም አጋርነታቸውን ላሳዩን ተ...
27/03/2026

✨ Celebrating Strong Partnerships for Change! ✨

ድርጅታችን የተቋቋመበትን አላማዎች ከግብ ለማድረስ በምናደርገው ጥረት ሁሉ ከጎናችን በመቆም አጋርነታቸውን ላሳዩን ተባባሪዎቻችን እውቅና የምንሰጥ ሲሆን በድርጅታችን ልማድ መሰረትም በየአመቱ በምናዘጋጀው የምስረታ ክብረ በአላችን ላይም ለእነዚህ አጋሮቻችን የእውቅና ሠርተፊኬት አበርክተናል፡፡

ይህን ታላቅ የአጋርነት እውቅና እና የአክብሮት ሠርተፊኬት በዚህ አመት ባከበርነው አምስተኛው የድርጅታችን የምስረታ በአል ላይም ለCivil Rights Defenders (CRD)፣ ለEmbassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands፣ ለAgence Française de Développement (AFD) ላደረጉልን እጅግ ከፍ ያለ ድጋፍ እና ትብብር ሁሉ ከታላቅ ምስጋና ጋር ስናበረክትላቸው ትልቅ ክብርና ኩራት ይሰማናል፡፡ በተጨማሪም የሥነ አዕምሮ ሕክምና ባለሙያ ለሆነውና ለዘወትር ተባባሪያችን አቶ ሽመልስ ገበየሁ ለበርካታ የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች የሥነ አዕምሮ ድጋፍና የማማከር አገልግሎት በመስጠት ላበረከተልን እጅግ የላቀ አስተዋጽኦ እና ድጋፍ ከፍ ያለ ምስጋና ለማቅረብ እንወዳለን፡፡

የሰብአዊ መብት ተማጋቾችን ደህንነት እና መብቶቻቸውን ለማስጠበቅና ሥራዎቻቸውንም ለመደገፍ የጀመርነውን ይህን ረዥም ጉዞ አጠናክረን ለመቀጠል እና ከእስካሁኑም የበለጠ ስራ ለመስራትና የተሻለ ውጤትም ለማምጣት ድጋፋችሁ በቀጣይም እንደማይለየን ተስፋ እናደርጋለን፡፡

We recognize our partners in every aspect of our work, and as part of our anniversary special tradition, we proudly recognized and appreciated the partner organizations that have stood with us over the years, championing our vision for human rights defenders.

We were proud to present Certificates of Appreciation to Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for their unwavering support. A special thank you also goes to Mr. Shimeles Gebeyehu for his invaluable contributions to our flagship HRD's psychosocial support programme.

We look forward to continuing this journey together and making an even greater difference in the years ahead!



Before the Tibebs, the suits, the speeches, and our 5th anniversary celebration, we began with what matters most: Oursel...
26/03/2026

Before the Tibebs, the suits, the speeches, and our 5th anniversary celebration, we began with what matters most: Ourselves.

We opened the day by creating a safe and welcoming space dedicated to mental and physical wellness and reflection. The room was filled with a sense of calm and peace, gently accompanied by classical music playing in the background, setting a grounding atmosphere.

The energy was truly uplifting. It was powerful to witness how creativity became a way to reflect the depth of their work and the strength they carry every day. This was a moment to pause, connect, and recharge together, stepping away from the demands of the work to nurture our own well-being, because caring for others begins with caring for ourselves.

This session set a meaningful and inspiring tone for the celebration that followed.



ከአምስተኛ ዓመት የምሥረታ በዓላችን መርሃግብሮች አንዱ በሲቪክ ምኅዳሩ ዙሪያ ከእንግዶቻችን የቀረቡት ንግግሮች ነበር።በዝግጅቱም በዓለምአቀፍ መድረኮች የሰብአዊ መብቶች ጥበቃ ላይ እንዲሁም በ...
24/03/2026

ከአምስተኛ ዓመት የምሥረታ በዓላችን መርሃግብሮች አንዱ በሲቪክ ምኅዳሩ ዙሪያ ከእንግዶቻችን የቀረቡት ንግግሮች ነበር።

በዝግጅቱም በዓለምአቀፍ መድረኮች የሰብአዊ መብቶች ጥበቃ ላይ እንዲሁም በአፍሪካ የሴት ተሟጋቾችን በማብቃት ረገድ ከ20 ዓመታት በላይ ልምድ ያካበቱት የዲፌንድ ዲፌንደርስ (DefendDefenders) ባልደረባ ሜሞሪ ባንዴራ እና በዓለም አቀፍ ሕግና በሰብአዊ መብቶች ሥርዓት ላይ ጥልቅ ዕውቀት ያላቸው የሕግ ምሁር ዶ/ር ተሰማ መብራቱ በመገኘታቸው ትልቅ ክብር ተሰምቶናል።

ተጋባዥ እንግዶቻችን አሁን ስላለው የሲቪክ ምኅዳር ሁኔታ ሲያብራሩ፤ የታዩ መሻሻሎችንና በሲቪል ማኅበረሰቡ ላይ እየደረሱ ያሉ ፈተናዎችን አንስተዋል። ለሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ደኅንነቱ የተጠበቀና ምቹ ሁኔታን መፍጠር አስፈላጊ መሆኑን በማጉላት፣ ድምፃቸው እንዲሰማና ጥበቃ እንዲደረግላቸውም ጠንካራ ቀጠናዊ ትብብርና አጋርነት እንዲኖር ጥሪ አቅርበዋል።

A major highlight of our 5th anniversary was the keynote session on civic space.

We were honored to hear from Memory Bandera from DefendDefenders, an international development professional with over 20 years of experience in advancing human rights and the protection of women human rights defenders across Africa and Dr. Tessema Mebratu, a distinguished legal scholar and human rights expert with extensive experience in international law and human rights mechanisms.

They spoke on the current state of civic space, highlighting both the progress made and the persistent challenges facing civil society. They underscored the need to ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders, and called for stronger regional solidarity to protect and amplify their voices.



የማዕከላችን 5ኛ ዓመት የምስረታ በዓል ልዩ ትውስታ 💛በዚህ ዝግጅት ላይ የማዕከላችን (EHRDC) ዋነኛ የሆኑ ሁለት ፕሮግራሞች ያመጡትን ተጨባጭ ለውጥ በሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች አንደበት ሰም...
23/03/2026

የማዕከላችን 5ኛ ዓመት የምስረታ በዓል ልዩ ትውስታ 💛

በዚህ ዝግጅት ላይ የማዕከላችን (EHRDC) ዋነኛ የሆኑ ሁለት ፕሮግራሞች ያመጡትን ተጨባጭ ለውጥ በሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች አንደበት ሰምተናል።

ከአማራ ክልል የመጣችው የማታ እሸት፣ ማዕከላችን የሰጣት የስነ-ልቦና ድጋፍ በውስጧ አዲስ ተስፋ እንደጫረባትና በማህበረሰቧ ውስጥ ያሉ ሴቶችን ለመርዳት ዳግም ብርታት እንደሆናት አጋርታናለች። በትግራይ ክልል በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሴቶችን የምታገለግለው ለታይ ተስፋይ በበኩሏ ከማዕከላችን ባገኘችው ድጋፍ ስራዋን ከአቋረጠችበት ለመቀጠል የሚያስችል አቅም ማግኘቷን ገልጻለች።

በወጣቶች ሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች ፕሮግራማችን በኩል ደግሞ፣ ቀደም ሲል የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ክለብ ስራ አስፈፃሚ የነበረውና በአሁኑ ወቅት የጎንደር ዩንቨርስቲ የህግ ትምህርት ቤት ክፍል ሃላፊ የሆነው እያሱ ጨቅሌ፣ ወጣቶች በግቢ ቆይታቸውም ሆነ ከተመረቁ በኋላ በስራቸው በሰብአዊ መብት ስራዎች ላይ በንቃት እንዲሳተፉ የሚያስችል አቅም እንደፈጠረላቸው ጠቁመዋል።

ከስነ-ልቦና ድጋፍ እስከ የወጣቶች የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ክበብ ድረስ ያሉ የስራዎቻችን ውጤቶች ለምን በትጋት እንደምንሰራ የሚያሳዩና ለቀጣይ ጉዟችን ትልቅ ስንቅ የሚሆኑን ናቸው።

A special moment from our 5th Anniversary 💛

We celebrated the impact of our two flagship programmes through the powerful voices of Human Rights Defenders.

Yemata Eshet from the Amhara region shared that psychosocial support gave her renewed hope to continue supporting women in her community. Letay Tesfay from Tigray spoke about regaining the courage to resume her work after burnout, continuing to serve thousands of women.

In our youth Human Rights Defenders programme, Eyasu Chekile, a former Human Rights Club executive at the University of Gonder Human Rights Club and now Head of the Law Department at the University of Gondar, noted that the club empowered him and other students to actively engage in human rights work on campus and beyond, both during their studies and in future careers.

From psychosocial support that restores hope and courage, to youth human rights clubs that inspire lasting commitment, these journeys remind us why we do what we do.



WINNER OF Rigbe Gebrehawaria is a distinguished legal professional who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment over t...
20/03/2026

WINNER OF

Rigbe Gebrehawaria is a distinguished legal professional who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment over the past two decades to advancing and safeguarding the rights of persons with disabilities, women, and the elderly in Ethiopia. In her role as the inaugural Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly at the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), she has driven transformative change by elevating institutional attention and establishing accountability for the protection of these rights.

Among her key accomplishments are leading a national accessibility audit of government buildings to promote inclusivity for persons with disabilities and co-founding the Ethiopian Women with Disabilities Lawyers Association (EWLA). Her pan-African advocacy for the rights of older persons further underscores her exemplary leadership, advancing the role of human rights defenders from a notion of compassion into a concrete and professional practice.

Congratulations, Rigbe Gebrehawaria 🎉

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