Lawyers for Human Rights - የሕግ ባለሙያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች

16/09/2026

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with Advocates Ethiopia (AE), successfully convened two parallel, two-day training workshops on Fundamental Human Rights Standards and Procedural Safeguards in Pre-Trial Criminal Justice Administration at the IVY Hotel in Bishoftu on 5–6 September 2026.

The trainings were officially opened by Ameha Mekonnen, Executive Director of LHR, who, in his welcoming and opening remarks, underscored the importance of strengthening human rights-compliant policing and ensuring respect for procedural safeguards throughout the pre-trial justice process. He highlighted the critical role of police investigators and leaders in upholding human rights, due process, and access to justice, while emphasizing the importance of continued collaboration among police institutions, civil society organizations, and other justice-sector actors.

The concurrent sessions brought together 34 senior investigative police officers from the Addis Ababa Police Commission and 30 senior investigative police officers from the Oromia Police Commission serving in Adama Town. The trainings aimed to strengthen participants’ operational understanding and practical application of human rights standards throughout the pre-trial phase, with particular emphasis on arrest, detention, investigative procedures, and the treatment of persons in police custody.

The comprehensive curriculum covered key areas, including democratic policing, the role of law enforcement in protecting human rights, standards governing the use of force, and procedural safeguards during arrest and detention. The sessions also addressed custody management, protection of children and other persons requiring special protection, gender-responsive policing, and access to free pre-trial legal aid services. The training further focused on accountability for human rights violations and lessons learned from institutional experiences.
Using interactive adult-learning methodologies, participants examined challenges arising in everyday law enforcement practice and identified practical strategies for strengthening rights-respecting investigation practices.

The trainings contribute to ongoing efforts to promote professional, accountable, and human rights-compliant policing and strengthen access to justice during the pre-trial stage.

15/09/2026

የህግ ባለሞያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች (LHR) ከፋና ብሮድካስቲንግ ኮርፖሬት ጋር በመተባበር "የፍትህ መንገድ" በተሰኘው ሳምንታዊ የሬዲዮ ፕሮግራሙ ስለ ህግ ግንዛቤ የሚያስተምር ዝግጅት ያቀርባል። በዛሬው ዕትም የሕግ ባለሙያ ጌታቸው አገኝ በዋስትና መብት ዙሪያ ሰፊ ማብራሪያ ሰጥተዋል።

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አድምጠው ግንዛቤዎን ያዳብሩ!
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Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with Fana Broadcasting Corporate, presents legal awareness through its weekly radio program. In today's edition, legal expert Getachew Agegn provides an in-depth explanation regarding the right of bail .

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Tune in and expand your legal knowledge!

10/09/2026

እንኳን ለ2019 የዘመን መለወጫ በዓል በሰላም አደረሳችሁ!

ለተከበራችሁ የድርጅታችን ሠራተኞች፣ አባላት፣ የቦርድ አመራሮች፣ አጋሮች እና ለመላው የሀገራችን ሕዝቦች፣ የሕግ ባለሙያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች ይህ አዲስ ዓመት የሰላም፣ የፍቅር፣ የአንድነት እና የመተሳሰብ ዘመን እንዲሆንላችሁ መልካም ምኞቱን ይገልጻል።

መልካም አዲስ ዓመት!

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Happy Ethiopian New Year 2019!

To our organizational staff, individual members, Board management and leaders, partners, and to all the people of our country, Lawyers for Human Rights extends its best wishes for a New Year filled with peace, love, unity, and compassion.

Happy Ethiopian New Year!

03/09/2026

Stakeholders Validate Findings on Pre-Trial Legal Aid Services in Hawassa

Hawassa (September 2, 2026) — A multi-stakeholder validation workshop was conducted in Hawassa to review the findings of a comprehensive study titled "Assessing Challenges and Opportunities in Delivering Pre-Trial Legal Aid Services at Hawassa." Jointly organized by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), Mizan Lawyers Center (MLC), and Advocates Ethiopia (AE), the conference gathered justice sector officials, law enforcement leadership, civil society representatives, and key partners to advance pre-trial legal assistance.

In his welcoming remarks, Ato Ameha Mekonnen, Executive Director of LHR, emphasized that legal representation from the earliest stages of criminal proceedings is crucial for safeguarding constitutional rights, preventing procedural violations, and ensuring fair-trial guarantees from the moment of arrest. Officially opening the workshop, H.E. Ato Mato Maru, Head of the Sidama Region Justice Bureau, underscored the vital role of pre-trial legal aid in guaranteeing access to justice for poor and vulnerable populations. Participants further echoed these principles, stressing the policy necessity of systematically institutionalizing pre-trial legal aid across all police stations.

The session featured a keynote presentation by Mr. Tinsae Seifu, representing the FDRE Ministry of Justice, who examined the strategic role of early legal intervention in modernizing criminal justice administration and broadening access to justice. Following the keynote, lead consultant Mr. Yirgalem Germu presented the assessment’s core findings, detailing key operational achievements alongside structural challenges, such as facility limitations and multi-agency coordination gaps. An interactive discussion provided participants an opportunity to formulate actionable strategies, focusing on scaling up station-based legal centers, formalizing structured referral workflows among civil society organizations, and securing sustainable logistical support. Participants reaffirmed their shared commitment to continuous cross-sector collaboration to translate these recommendations into an institutionalized, sustainable component of pre-trial justice administration in Hawassa and beyond.

MIZAN Lawyers center Advocates Ethiopia Sidaama Region Bureau of Justice/ሲብክመ ፍትሕ ቢሮ

03/09/2026

Expanding Access to Justice: Highlights from the inter-regional experience-sharing visit on pre-trial free legal aid in Hawassa (Sept 1–2, 2026), organized by LHR, MLC, and AE in collaboration with the Sidama Region Justice Bureau. Delegations from the Addis Ababa Police Commission, Oromia Police Commission, and the FDRE Ministry of Justice explored Hawassa’s station-based legal aid model to strengthen rights protection for pre-trial detainees.

Organized by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) in close collaboration with Mizan Lawyers Center (MLC) and Advocates Ethiopia (AE), a comprehensive experience-sharing and field visit program on pre-trial free legal aid service was held in Hawassa on September 1–2, 2026. Bringing together representatives from Addis Ababa Police Commission, Oromia Police Commission, and the FDRE Ministry of Justice, the initiative aimed to evaluate inter-institutional cooperation mechanisms and broaden access to early legal assistance for pre-trial detainees.

The program commenced on September 1 with an orientation and dialogue session at the Sidama Region Justice Bureau. H.E. Ato Mato Maru, Head of the Sidama Region Justice Bureau, opened the event by emphasizing that sustainable pre-trial legal aid relies on robust collaboration between justice bureaus, police commissions, and civil society organizations. Ato Terefe Jomba, Head of the Human Rights Office at the Justice Bureau, presented a detailed overview of the bureau’s pre-trial human rights protection mechanisms and legal aid ex*****on in Sidama region. Participants noted that Sidama’s operational model provides a valuable benchmark for structural cooperation, ensuring that suspects receive timely legal guidance at the earliest stages of detention.

On September 2, delegates conducted field visits to stationed legal aid centers inside the Mehal Ketema and Tabor sub-city police stations in Hawassa. The on-site inspection allowed participants to directly observe case-handling workflows, early access procedures, and daily coordination between legal aid officers and station commanders.

During the subsequent reflection session, LHR Executive Director Ato Ameha Mekonnen noted that embedding legal aid centers directly within police stations significantly reduces prolonged pre-trial detention and enhances accountability. He expressed sincere gratitude to the Sidama Region Justice Bureau, the Police Commission, and station commanders for their warm hospitality and exemplary efforts in fostering a conducive service delivery environment. Participating delegates from the Addis Ababa Police Commission and the Oromia Police Commission reaffirmed the effectiveness of Hawassa’s station-based legal aid model and emphasized the importance of establishing similar pre-trial free legal aid centers within police stations in their respective jurisdictions.

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የፍትሕ ተደራሽነትን ማሳደግ፦ በቅድመ-ክስ ነፃ የሕግ ድጋፍ አገልግሎት ዙሪያ በሐዋሳ ከተማ የተካሄደ የልምድ ልውውጥ እና የመስክ ጉብኝት መርኃ ግብር (ነሐሴ 26–27 ቀን 2018 ዓ.ም.)። በሕግ ባለሙያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች፣ በሚዛን የሕግ ባለሙያዎች ማዕከል እና በአድቮኬትስ ኢትዮጵያ ከአጋር አካላት ጋር በመቀናጀት በተዘጋጀው በዚህ መርኃ ግብር ከአዲስ አበባ ፖሊስ ጠቅላይ መምሪያ፣ ከኦሮሚያ ፖሊስ ጠቅላይ መምሪያ እና ከፍትሕ ሚኒስቴር የተወጣጡ ተወካዮች የሲዳማ ክልልን መልካም ተሞክሮ ተመልክተዋል።

በሕግ ባለሙያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች ከሚዛን የሕግ ባለሙያዎች ማዕከል እና ከአድቮኬትስ ኢትዮጵያ ጋር በመቀናጀት የተዘጋጀ በቅድመ-ክስ ነፃ የሕግ ድጋፍ አገልግሎት ዙሪያ የሚያተኩር አጠቃላይ የልምድ ልውውጥ እና የመስክ ጉብኝት መርሃ ግብር ከነሐሴ 26 እስከ 27 ቀን 2018 ዓ.ም. በሐዋሳ ከተማ ተካሂዷል። ከአዲስ አበባ ፖሊስ ኮሚሽን፣ ከኦሮሚያ ፖሊስ ኮሚሽን እና ከኢፌዴሪ ፍትሕ ሚኒስቴር የተወጣጡ ተወካዮችን ያሳተፈው ይህ መርሃ ግብር፣ ተቋማዊ የትብብር አሠራሮችን ለመገምገም እና ለቅድመ-ክስ ተጠርጣሪዎች የሚሰጠውን የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ የቅድመ-ክስ ነፃ የሕግ ድጋፍ ለማስፋፋት ያለመ ነው።

መርሃ ግብሩ ነሐሴ 26 ቀን በሲዳማ ክልል ፍትሕ ቢሮ በተካሄደ የልምድ ልውውጥ ውይይት ተጀምሯል። የሲዳማ ክልል ፍትሕ ቢሮ ኃላፊ ክቡር አቶ ማቶ ማሩ በመክፈቻ ንግግራቸው፣ ዘላቂ የቅድመ-ክስ ነፃ የሕግ ድጋፍ አገልግሎትን ለማረጋገጥ በፍትሕ ቢሮ፣ በፖሊስ ኮሚሽኖች እና በሲቪል ማኅበረሰብ ድርጅቶች መካከል የሚደረግ የተቀናጀ ትብብር ወሳኝ መሆኑን ገልጸዋል። በፍትሕ ቢሮው የሰብአዊ መብቶች ጉዳዮች ጽሕፈት ቤት ኃላፊ አቶ ተረፈ ጆምባ የሲዳማ ክልልን የቅድመ-ክስ የሰብአዊ መብቶች ጥበቃ እና የሕግ ድጋፍ አፈፃፀም የሚያስቃኝ ዝርዝር ሰነድ አቅርበዋል። ተሳታፊዎችም የሲዳማ ክልል አሠራር ተጠርጣሪዎች ከተያዙበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ ተገቢውን የሕግ ድጋፍ እንዲያገኙ በማስቻል ረገድ ለተቋማዊ ትብብር ጥሩ ተሞክሮ የሚወሰድበት መሆኑን ገልጸዋል።

በሁለተኛው ቀን (ነሐሴ 27 ቀን) ተሳታፊዎች በሐዋሳ ከተማ በሚገኙት በመሐል ከተማ እና በታቦር ክፍለ ከተማ ፖሊስ ጣቢያዎች ውስጥ በተቋቋሙ የሕግ ድጋፍ ማዕከላት ላይ የመስክ ጉብኝት አድርገዋል። ይህ የመስክ ምልከታ ተሳታፊዎች የመዝገብ አያያዝ ሂደቶችን፣ ለተጠርጣሪዎች የሚሰጡ የነጻ ሕግ ድጋፍ አገልግሎቶት ጥራትን እና በነጻ የሕግ ድጋፍ አገልግሎት ሰጪዎችና በፖሊስ ጣቢያ አዛዦች (የፖሊስ አባላት) መካከል ያለውን የቀን ተቀን የሥራ ቅንጅት በተግባር እንዲመለከቱ ዕድል ፈጥሯል።

ከመስክ ጉብኝቱ በኋላ በተካሄደው የልምድ መንሸራሸሪያ ውይይት፣ የሕግ ባለሙያዎች ለሰብአዊ መብቶች ዋና ዳይሬክተር አቶ አመኃ መኮነን የሕግ ድጋፍ ማዕከላትን በቀጥታ በፖሊስ ጣቢያዎች ውስጥ ማቋቋም አላስፈላጊና የተራዘመ የቅድመ-ክስ እስራትን ለመቀነስ እና የወንጀል ምርመራ ሥራ ሕጋዊነትን ለማጎልበት ከፍተኛ አስተዋጽኦ እንዳለው አብራርተዋል። አቶ አመኃ ለሲዳማ ክልል ፍትሕ ቢሮ፣ ለሲዳማ ክልል ፖሊስ ጠቅላይ መምሪያ እና ለፖሊስ ጣቢያ አዛዦች ለአገልግሎት አሰጣጡ አመች ሁኔታን በመፍጠራቸው እንዲሁም ለእንግዶች ላደረጉት መልካም አቀባበል ምስጋና አቅርበዋል። ከአዲስ አበባ ፖሊስ ጠቅላይ መምሪያ እና ከኦሮሚያ ፖሊስ ጠቅላይ መምሪያ የመጡ ከፍተኛ የሥራ ኃላፊዎችም በሐዋሳ ያዩት በፖሊስ ጣቢያ ላይ የተመሠረተ የሕግ ድጋፍ አሠራር ውጤታማ መሆኑን አረጋግጠው፣ ተመሳሳይ የቅድመ-ክስ ነፃ የሕግ ድጋፍ ማዕከላትን በየአካባቢያቸው በሚገኙ የፖሊስ ጣቢያዎች ውስጥ ማቋቋም አስፈላጊ መሆኑን ገልጸዋል።

Photo credit Sidaama Region Bureau of Justice/ሲብክመ ፍትሕ ቢሮ

31/08/2026

የህግ ባለሞያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች (LHR) ከፋና ብሮድካስቲንግ ኮርፖሬት ጋር በመተባበር "የፍትህ መንገድ" በተሰኘው ሳምንታዊ የሬዲዮ ፕሮግራሙ ስለ ህግ ግንዛቤ የሚያስተምር ዝግጅት ያቀርባል። በዛሬው ዕትም የሕግ ባለሙያዋ ትግስት ርዕሰ የተከሰሱ ሰዎች መብት ዙሪያ ሰፊ ማብራሪያ ሰጥተዋል።

🎧 አድምጠው ግንዛቤዎን ያዳብሩ!
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Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with Fana Broadcasting Corporate, presents legal awareness through its weekly radio program. In today's edition, legal expert Tigist Riese provides an in-depth explanation regarding the rights of accused persons.

🎧 Tune in and expand your legal knowledge!

#ፋና #ኢትዮጵያ

22/08/2026

Strengthening Lawyers’ Capacity for Human Rights Protection and Accountability

On August 20, 2026, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) organized a one-day capacity-building training on Investigation and Documentation of Human Rights Violations for Accountability for lawyers in Dire Dawa engaged in promoting human rights and access to justice.

The training was facilitated by Rigbe Gebrehawaria Hagos, former Commissioner for Women, Children, Older Persons and Disability Rights at the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The training focused on practical skills in investigation planning, interviewing, evidence collection and verification, documentation, analysis, reporting, and identifying appropriate accountability mechanisms. Participants also took part in practical exercises and mock interviews to strengthen their investigative skills.

The training highlighted the importance of accurate, reliable, ethical, and survivor-centred documentation in promoting access to justice, accountability, and the protection of human rights.

LHR remains committed to strengthening the capacity of legal professionals to contribute to human rights protection, access to justice, and the rule of law.

14/08/2026

የህግ ባለሞያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች (LHR) ከፋና ብሮድካስቲንግ ኮርፖሬት ጋር በመተባበር "የፍትህ መንገድ" በተሰኘው ሳምንታዊ የሬዲዮ ፕሮግራሙ ስለ ህግ ግንዛቤ የሚያስተምር ዝግጅት ያቀርባል። በዛሬው ዕትም የሕግ ባለሙያው አቶ ሀብታሙ ጥላሁን የተያዙ ሰዎች መብት ዙሪያ ሰፊ ማብራሪያ ሰጥተዋል።

🎧 አድምጠው ግንዛቤዎን ያዳብሩ!
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Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with Fana Broadcasting Corporate, presents legal awareness through its weekly radio program. In today's edition, legal expert Ato Habtamu Tilahun provides an in-depth explanation regarding the rights of arrested persons.

🎧 Tune in and expand your legal knowledge!

#ፋና #ኢትዮጵያ

13/08/2026

https://www.csinnovationfund.org/change-stories/pre-court-legal-aid

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is improving access to justice and strengthening human rights protections within Ethiopia’s legal system through offering free pre‑trial legal aid services. LHR is the leading civil society consortium in Ethiopia, it includes Mizan Lawyers Centre (MLC) and Advocate...

07/08/2026

Lawyers for Human Rights, in collaboration with Fana Broadcasting Corporate, presents a weekly legal awareness radio series focusing on the criminal justice system and human rights. In today’s episode, Ato Ameha Mekonen explores the fundamentals of the criminal justice system, its key actors, and its core objectives. Tune in and expand your legal knowledge!
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የህግ ባለሞያዎች ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች ከፋና ብሮድካስቲንግ ኮርፖሬት ጋር በመተባበር ስለ የወንጀል ፍትሕ ሥርዓት እና ሰብአዊ መብቶች የሚያስተምር ሳምንታዊ የሬዲዮ ፕሮግራም አዘጋጅቷል። በዛሬው ክፍል አቶ አመሃ መኮንን ስለ ወንጀል ፍትሕ ሥርዓት መሠረታዊ ፅንሰ-ሐሳቦች፣ ዋና ዋና ባለድርሻ አካላት እና ዋና ዓላማዎች ሰፊ ማብራሪያ ሰጥተዋል። 🎧 አድምጠው ግንዛቤዎን ያዳብሩ!

#ፋና #ኢትዮጵያ