GENERAL MEASURES TAKEN TO PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS AND TO IMPLEMENT THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS Ethiopia has taken policy, legislative and institutional measures with a view to promote and protect the rights, freedoms and duties enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) is the foundation of the country‟s democratic system of governance. The building of a democratic system has been taken as an absolute necessity for the continued existence of the country and as the basis for strong and lasting peace, development and good governance, all of which serve as the necessary foundations for the protection of human rights. The Constitution, as the supreme law of the land and as the basic legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights in Ethiopia, sets forth the affirmative commitments of the country to the cause of human rights. Article 9 (4) of the Constitution for example provides that international agreements ratified by Ethiopia form an integral part of the law of the land; Article 13(2) goes a step further to align the national human rights system with the international system by requiring the interpretation of national human rights provisions to be in line with international human rights instruments. Accordingly the basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of citizens have been and are given full recognition. The rights of women to full equality have also been addressed with a constitutional backup of affirmative measures to remedy the historical legacy of gender-based inequality and discrimination. Ethiopia has ratified a series of human right treaties as a part of its commitment to the promotion, protection, respect and fulfillment of human rights, including the ACHPR in May 1998. In fact, by virtue of the Constitution, all ratified human right treaties form an integral part of the law of the land8. The translation of international human rights instruments in to different national languages has helped enhance awareness of the international human rights instruments. The House of Peoples‟ Representatives adopted the International Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and enacted a Proclamation to that effect on July, 2009. Currently, Ethiopia is in the process of ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families10. This document has been submitted . Article 9 of the FDRE constitution . Ethiopia's implementation report of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Dec, 2012) 10 . Report on Ethiopia's reporting status of human rights, p-1.By UNOHCHR-EARO. 8 9 19