the impact of these policies on human rights. The Government continuously verifies that these policies and strategies provide a positive contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights. For instance, the policy on democratic system building sketches out the measures that need to be taken to entrench the realization of democratic rights. The following section highlights the basic tenets of some of these policy documents. 1. Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and Strategy Ethiopia‟s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and Strategy defines the country‟s main security threats to be of an internal nature, the danger being that widening poverty might lead to the collapse of the nation or that an absence of democracy and good governance might result in increased vulnerability to external threats. This explains the focus on rapid economic development and the building of a structure of democratic governance. The policy asserts that the country should first pursue links on economic matters, and emphasizes that relationships, whether hostile or friendly, should be on the basis of economic development. In light of this, the economy is at the centre of the national security strategy. The government recognizes that it is only rapid economic growth that can build the nation‟s capacity to withstand internal and external security threats. Ethiopia‟s bilateral relations over the last two decades have therefore been an exercised in pursuit of these goals. The policy advances the promotion of friendly relations based on mutual trust and common benefit.16 2. Fiscal and Monetary Policy The fiscal policy pursued has focused on increasing tax revenue by effectively administering existing tax policies and tax reform programs, and on increasing budgetary expenditures on capital investments, pro-poor and growth-enhancing sectors. The fiscal and monetary policy objectives are macroeconomic stability, rapid and sustainable economic growth and increased public spending on pro-poor sectors. The objectives of the fiscal policy have been to enhance the capacity of tax revenue to finance the country‟s expenditure needs, and ensure a stable macroeconomic environment by maintaining any budget deficit at less than 3 percent of GDP. Total government expenditure in 2012/13 was Birr 153.9 billion; the planned target was Birr 130.2 billion, indicating 16 For the details refer to the Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and Strategy available at http://www.mfa.gov.et/ 23