The US urged the Ethiopian government to permit international human rights experts’ access to Ethiopia as a precondition before reinstating Ethiopia’s benefit under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Ambassador who went to the Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP) this week said that one of these steps is to let international human rights experts into conflict-affected areas of northern Ethiopia. However, international manufacturers were discouraged as a result of security threats and the war in northern Ethiopia, resulting in layoffs. The UN established the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia last year in a bid to travel to the conflict areas in northern Ethiopia and investigate human rights breaches and war crimes. “We regret that AGOA trade preferences have not been utilized to the maximum.

Source: Ethiopian News December 11, 2022 04:46 UTC