#Ethiopia is, yet again, facing a serious test just two years after @AbiyAhmedAli promised, and began to implement, major reforms to open politics, free the media, & build a democratic society 1/6 nytimes.com/2020/07/02/wor…
in december, i visited the country and found several incredibly impressive features - govt reform, engagement with civil society, legal change. report for #HRC44 here: undocs.org/A/HRC/44/49/Ad… 2/6 
the tragic killing of #Hachalu_Hundessa - and the ensuing violence - should remind everyone that the work of democratic reform is hard, facing real challenges, & must be reinforced with open debate 3/6
while addressing very real problems, the adoption of the hate speech & disinformation law earlier this year was one backward step in the democratization process. i expressed my concerns at ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/… 4/6
there is of course a serious risk that social media platforms, esp #Facebook, may be used to incite ethnic-based violence & hatred. Facebook knows this is a real problem & i continue to urge steps to deal with it aggressively, given the high stakes. 5/6
indeed, social media and other external actors should do more than just mediate/moderate the space. given their power, they should add value & reconsider their role. 6/6 medium.com/@dkisaway/ethi…
one other point. shutting down the internet is entirely counter-productive & counter to basic human rights standards. i've made this point to the govt, publicly reuters.com/article/ethiop…
from my report, re #InternetShutdowns, #HumanRights standards, and #Ethiopia undocs.org/A/HRC/44/49/Ad…
