27. Harmful cultural, religious and traditional practices continue to restrict Ethiopian women and children from fully enjoying their rights, and are often the cause of human rights violations against women and children. 28. Resource constraints, illiteracy and lack of knowledge by the majority of the population about regional and international human rights instruments ratified by Ethiopia restrict the effective enjoyment of human rights in Ethiopia. IV. Areas of Concern 29. While acknowledging the significant efforts made by the Government of Ethiopia to promote and protect human rights, the Commission is however concerned about the following matters: Reporting Obligations and Cooperation with the Commission 30. The Report does not provide specific and comprehensive answers to questions and issues raised by the Commission in its 2010 Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Ethiopia’s 1st to 4th Periodic Report; and Ethiopia continues to apply legislation on which the Commission raised concerns in those Concluding Observations. These include: i. ii. iii. The Anti-Terrorism Proclamation No. 652/2009; The Charities and Societies Proclamation No. 621/2009; Freedom of Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation No. 590/2008. 31. The Report does not provide comprehensive disaggregated data, including gender disaggregated data on its implementation of the rights guaranteed in the African Charter in order to allow the Commission to objectively assess Ethiopia’s level of compliance vis-à-vis the obligations contained in the African Charter. 32. The Report lacks information on Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter regarding the rights of human rights defenders and freedom of association. 10 | P a g e