government and nine regional states; censorship was abolished in the country’s modern history and a vibrant private press mushroomed in the major urban areas, especially Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian people were able to freely elect their leaders and four national and regional parliamentary elections were held in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010 despite some challenges. These are giant strides in the area of political governance. On the economic front, there has also been significant progress. Ethiopia has since emerged as one of the fastest growing non-oil economies in Africa with double-digit growth and continued improvement in infrastructure and access to basic services. D. Democracy and Political Governance XIII. From an imperial political order with underpinnings of feudalism, Ethiopia has transformed to a federal state built on the principles of autonomy and selfdetermination of constituent nations, nationalities and peoples which allow for secession, under certain entrenched constitutional provisions. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been the lead instrument of this transformation to a federal multiparty democratic system that encourages self-governance and self-reliant development. XIV. The country’s federalism has, however, sometimes been criticised for “essentialising” ethnic identities, “privileging” them over other identity types and in the process heightening ethnic tension and conflict. Yet, in an important sense, Ethiopia’s federalism is a refreshing approach to governance. This is because it moves away from regarding ethnicity as a negative or dysfunctional political and socioeconomic social force. Instead, it emphasises the positively creative, crosscutting utilitarian value of ethnicity for democracy and development, in anchoring democratic politics and development as a bargaining process, based on mutuality and reciprocity among ethnic and national groups, which constitute the fundamental components of the social demography and political tapestry of the typical African state. This is indeed in the spirit of Articles 20(1) and 22(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights1. However, as this new order is work in progress, its success depends largely on how the political institutions are consolidated and sustained. XV. Ethiopia has signed and ratified almost all the six core instruments in this thematic area with the exception of one important core treaty - the Convention 1 Article 20(1) states that “All peoples shall have the right to existence. They shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self- determination. They shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen” Article 22(1) states that “All peoples shall have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with due regard to their freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind” - 25 -