Ethiopia’s Nations’, Nationalities’ and Peoples’ Day and next week’s 5th International Conference on Federalism
The Fifth International Conference on Federalism on the theme of “Equality and Unity in Diversity for Development” starts in Addis Ababa next Monday [13th Dec]. The four day conference will be opened by President Girma Wolde-Giorghis and Prime Minister Meles will deliver the keynote address. Other speakers on the opening day will include Dr. Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the African Union and Dr. Abdoulie Janneh, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa as well as leaders attending the conference. The chairperson of the Forum of Federations, Dr. Vijay Kelkar will also speak on “Reflections over a decade of sharing experiences”: the first of the Forum of Federations international conferences was held in 1999 in Canada. The others have been in Switzerland (2002), Belgium (2005) and India (2007). This is the first to be held in Africa.
The theme of “Equality and Unity in Diversity for Development” will be discussed under five topics: Federalism and the Democratic Process; The Impacts of Regionalism and Globalisation on Federations; Unity in Diversity through Federalism; Federalism and Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Mechanisms; and Fiscal Federalism and Equitable Development. A total of 45 case studies on federalism and decentralised governance systems will be presented, 15 from Ethiopia, 15 from Africa and 15 from the rest of the world, and a central element in the conference will be consideration of how federal structures can be developed to build more effective democratic societies and governments.
The conference will, in fact, offer a unique opportunity to include African perspectives into the discussions on the achievements and challenges of federalism. It will highlight the ways in which African nations, including Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania and others, are using federal and decentralised systems of government to approach development in different, and innovative ways. Federal or quasi-federal arrangements have proved workable for a number of African states but it is only Ethiopia which has based its constitution on ‘territorially clustered cultural-linguistic communities’. The nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, constitutionally sovereign, united voluntarily to form the federal democratic republic in 1994.
The Conference coincides with one of the major expressions of Ethiopian federalism – Ethiopia’s Nations’, Nationalities’ and Peoples’ Day. This was colourfully celebrated in all the regional states last Wednesday 8th December, but in honour of the Conference, the Speaker of the House of Federation, Ato Kassa Teklebirhan, announced that the Federal celebration of the Nations’, Nationalities’ and Peoples’ Day would take place next Monday [13th] to coincide with the opening of the Conference, and that it should be observed under the theme that the Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples should make a concerted effort to bring the Ethiopian renaissance to an irreversible point.
Prior to the conference, the Federal government also organised a series of meetings throughout the country to consider and answer the question “What does federation mean to me?” The last of these meetings was held in Addis Ababa at the end of last month when 1,500 people met to reflect on the question. In the previous six months, a series of meetings was held in Adama, Assosa, Bahr Dar, Dire Dawa, Gambella, Harar, Hawassa, Jijiga, Mekele and Semere, to consider the meaning of federalism and increase awareness of the actualities of Ethiopia’s federal system, and underline the point emphasised by Prime Minister Meles when announcing that Ethiopia would host this conference: “We have come to realise that federalism is perhaps the best means of accommodating diversity.”
The success of Ethiopia’s federal system can be seen in the reduction in the number of conflicts among its different nations and nationalities. It also has had the effect of democratising the country, empowering regional and linguistic communities towards self-governance. The federal system was selected to bring solutions for past grievances as the only guarantee to bring an end to discrimination, economic exploitation and political oppression. The central element of federalism in Ethiopia’s multi-national and multi-ethnic society lies in its diversity, offering respect and equality to all. Federalism indeed is the antithesis of power centralisation, providing for a system that is democratic and responsive to the political and economic demands of the peoples; empowering two levels of government, federalism contributes to the decentralisation of politics and enhances participation in politics and government.
The focus of the conference is not intended to be theoretical but to use fact-based studies to lead into discussions on best practice and possible solutions to the challenges and problems. And it might be noted that one of the effects of federalism in Ethiopia has been the growth of bilateral mechanisms with neighbouring states through Joint Border Commissions organising annual meetings carried out by the local state governments across national borders to discuss issues of common concern. There have been 13 such cross-border meetings between Sudanese state administrations and Ethiopian state governments, 17 with Djibouti and 27 with Kenya. By extension, this mechanism is also being implemented down to Zonal and District levels, ensuring participation at grass root levels. Such meetings provide for solutions to problems through joint consultations before they reach levels of dispute or violence. In effect, the establishment of federal arrangements has created a forum with neighbouring countries which allows the peoples of adjacent states to discuss a wide range of areas of common concern, effectively resolving problems relating to secessionist ambitions and other difficulties.
The conference, which will end on Thursday next week [16th Dec], will offer a forum for sharing the way African and other states are using federalism to resolve the problems of development. It will showcase Ethiopia’s national experience. As the Prime Minister has noted the Conference gives recognition to Ethiopia’s federal democratic system and it will contribute significantly to building up the image of the country. We will provide a full report on the Conference in A Week in the Horn next week.