{"id":36834,"date":"2025-04-21T22:39:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ethiopia\/all-news\/ethiopia-parliament-approves-controversial-media-law-amendment"},"modified":"2025-04-22T21:46:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T21:46:41","slug":"ethiopia-parliament-approves-controversial-media-law-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ethiopia\/all-news\/ethiopia-parliament-approves-controversial-media-law-amendment","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia Parliament approves controversial media law amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Ethiopia. <\/strong><\/span>April 21, 2025 3 minutes read HoPR Speaker Tagesse Chafo approving the amendment on Thursday. Photo: HoPR<\/p>\n

Addis Abeba<\/b>\u2013 The House of Peoples\u2019 Representatives on Thursday 17 April approved an amendment to Ethiopia\u2019s Mass Media Proclamation, granting the Prime Minister the authority to nominate the Director General of the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA), a role that was previously reserved for the House.<\/p>\n

The amendment, which revises Proclamation No. 1238\/2021, had been under review by the Standing Committee on Democracy Affairs since its referral by the House on 29 October 2024.<\/p>\n

The approved amendment repeals Article 8(2) of the proclamation, which previously stated that the Director General of the EMA, Ethiopia\u2019s media regulatory body, shall be \u201cappointed by the House of Peoples\u2019 Representatives.\u201d Under the revised law, the Director General will instead be nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the House.<\/p>\n

It also repeals Articles 9(1) and 9(2), which required that board members be appointed \u201cin an open and transparent manner\u201d and outlined steps to ensure public participation, including giving the public an opportunity \u201cto nominate and share their opinions of candidates,\u201d and to \u201cpublish the selection process of candidates and a shortlist via media and other electronic means,\u201d while ensuring \u201cfair representation of Ethiopian diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, Article 11(6), which stipulated that a board member shall not be \u201ca member or employee of a political party,\u201d has been removed.<\/p>\n

The amendment further repeals Article 9(5)(a), which had required the board to include two members each from civil society organizations, media, and \u201cother institutions that have relevance to the media sector.\u201d The new provision broadly states that the board shall be composed of \u201crepresentatives from different bodies relevant to the media,\u201d without specifying representation from particular sectors.<\/p>\n

The amendments also transfer the media licensing and regulatory powers\u2014including the authority to refuse license registration or to renew, suspend, revoke, warn, fine, and terminate a program\u2014from the board to the Authority.<\/p>\n

EMA authorities believe the proposed amendment represents a critical restructuring of the Authority\u2019s governance, focusing on addressing long-standing bureaucratic inefficiencies and clarifying institutional roles. They also argue that while the EMA remains under the oversight of the Parliament, the amendment pragmatically adjusts the governance model in line with its statutory status and operational realities.<\/p>\n

However, the amendment had faced significant opposition from journalists, media organizations, and civil society groups in Ethiopia and abroad.<\/p>\n

In November 2024, a coalition of 14 media association and civil society organizations raised concerns over the proposed changes, warning that the amendment would place the EMA \u201cunder the influence of the executive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coalition, including the Ethiopian Mass Media Professionals Association (EMMA), Ethiopian Media Women Association (EMWA), Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD), criticized the draft for being introduced \u201cwithout an independent study\u201d and \u201cadequate stakeholder discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The International Press Institute (IPI) also condemned the amendment, warning of the risks it posed to media freedom. IPI urged lawmakers to \u201creject the proposed amendments due to measures that weaken the independence of the media regulator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn independent regulatory body is indispensable to press freedom. Governments should therefore ensure the independence of media regulatory bodies, in line with their commitments to safeguard freedom of expression and media freedom as guaranteed under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples\u2019 Rights,\u201d said Dr. Marystella Simiyu, IPI\u2019s Africa Senior Legal Advocacy Officer, at the time.<\/p>\n

The amendment to the media law also comes amid growing concern over what observers describe as an unprecedented deterioration of press freedom in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

In its 2024 Global Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Ethiopia 141st out of 180 countries\u2014dropping ten places from 2023. RSF said that \u201cdevastated by inter-ethnic conflict and civil war, most of the recent gains in press freedom have been reversed,\u201d adding that the conflict in Amhara has renewed journalists\u2019 fear of reprisals.<\/p>\n

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also ranked Ethiopia among the worst jailers of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, placing it third after Eritrea and Egypt. In its 2024 prison census, CPJ recorded six journalists detained in Ethiopia, five of whom are facing \u201cterrorism\u201d charges. The organization noted that authorities often use \u201cvague charges or convictions for terrorism or extremism\u201d to imprison journalists.<\/p>\n

According to the Journalists\u2019 Safety Assessment Report by International Media Support (IMS), press freedom has been \u201cincreasingly threatened,\u201d with journalists facing \u201cintimidation, detention, and harassment.\u201d The report noted that at least 43 journalists in Ethiopia have been arrested, imprisoned, or kidnapped in 2024. AS<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Ethiopia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Ethiopia. April 21, 2025 3 minutes read HoPR Speaker Tagesse Chafo approving the amendment on Thursday. Photo: HoPR Addis Abeba\u2013 The House of Peoples\u2019 Representatives on Thursday 17 April approved an amendment to Ethiopia\u2019s Mass Media Proclamation, granting the Prime Minister the authority to nominate the Director General of the Ethiopian Media Authority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":36833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[235],"class_list":["post-36834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-ethiopia"],"yoast_head":"\nEthiopia Parliament approves controversial media law amendment - Ethiopia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"April 21, 2025 3 minutes read HoPR Speaker Tagesse Chafo approving the amendment on Thursday. 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