College of Law Holds a Panel Discussion on National Dialogue
College of Law and Governance Studies of Addis Ababa University (AAU) organized a Panel Discussion on “Making National Dialogue Deliver” in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation (FES) at Sheraton Addis Hotel on the 3rd of March 2022.
Mr. Mchael Troester, FES’s Resident Representative in Ethiopia noted in his opening remark that FES supports efforts to facilitate healthy political deliberations and interactions in Ethiopia, and is happy to be part of this effort.
Biruk Haile (PhD), Head of School of Law at College, in his welcoming speech said that the National Dialogue Commission’s establishment seeks a broader public participation to address the differences of various political views within the existing legal and institutional framework peacefully.
He added: “A wide range of broader public participation is arguably a new approach in the political history of this country and it has to be handled very carefully; as much as the initiative promises of democratic transition, there is also every possibility that we may slide back to tyranny, repression and poverty.”
The discussion was aimed to lay bare some concerns at the very initial stage of the process and find out the imponderables about the commission and so as to create academic platform for free exchange of views among stakeholders to understand challenges and opportunities ahead, he said.
Dr. Biruk concluded his remark that Ethiopia has remarkable ages old civilization and its citizens have long accumulated wisdom to accommodate and manage their differences through indigenous conceptions of justice, rule of law and tolerance.
One of the panellists, Adem Kassie (PhD), speaking on the key considerations and comparative insights for a successful national dialogue, noted that political will from the government should ensure inclusive of broad participation from the grass-roots of the civil society, the elites and other stakeholders in the process.
Eyerusalem Solomon, in her “Ensuring Inclusive and Representative Dialogue” presentation said, inclusivity contributes to exert pressure on the negotiating parties, reach common ground, offer knowledge and expertise to enhance legitimacy creating greater diversity by providing access to difficult constituencies.
The third panellist, Mr. Nigusu Aklilu, from Destiny Ethiopia, speaking on practical considerations of Ethiopian experience as home-grown efforts, emphasized that confidence building among stakeholders and dialogue partners is one of the key points for the success of dialogues. “Dialogue is the only option in any society with diversity and several contradictions,” he stressed.
Source: Addis Ababa University