Ethiopia

Article 10: Human and Democratic Rights

1. Human rights and freedoms, emanating from the nature of mankind, are inviolable and inalienable.
2. Human and democratic rights of citizens and peoples shall be respected.

Article 14: Rights to life, the Security of Person and Liberty

Every person has the inviolable and inalienable right to life the security of person and liberty.

Article 16: The Right of the Security of Person

Everyone has the right to protection against bodily harm.

Article 17: Right to Liberty

1. No one shall be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
2. No person may be subjected to arbitrary arrest, and no person may be detained without a charge or conviction against him.

Article 18: Prohibition against Inhuman Treatment

1. Everyone has the right to protection against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
2. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. Trafficking in human beings for whatever purpose is prohibited.
3. No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. 4. For the purpose of sub-Article 3 of this Article the phrase "forced or compulsory labour" shall not include:
4. Any work or service normally required of a person who is under detention in consequence of a lawful order, or of a person during conditional release from such detention;
5. In the case of conscientious objectors, any service exacted in lieu of compulsory military service;
6. Any service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community;
7. Any economic and social development activity voluntarily performed by a community within its locality.

Article 35 Rights of Women

2. Women have equal rights with men in marriage as prescribed by this Constitution.
3. The State shall enforce the right of women to eliminate the influences of harmful customs. Laws, customs and practices that oppress or cause bodily or mental harm to women are prohibited.
4. Women shall have a right to equality in employment, promotion, pay, and the transfer of pension entitlements.

Article 42: Rights of Labour

2. Workers have the right to reasonable limitation of working hours, to rest, to leisure, to periodic leaves with pay, to remuneration for public holidays as well as healthy and safe work environment.

Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDF)

Article 270.- War Crimes against the Civilian Population.

Whoever, in time of war, armed conflict or occupation organizes, orders or engages in, against the civilian population and in violation of the rules of pubic international law and of international humanitarian conventions:

(f) compulsion to acts of prostitution, debauchery or rape

Article 573: Endangering the Human Body.

1)Whoever, with intent to obtain money or other advantage:

1. a) gives while alive his organ or a part of his body to another; or
2. b) enters into a contract with another person or institution to give his organ or a part of his body after his death,

is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine.

(2) Whoever, with intent to obtain money or other advantage, takes away an organ or a part of the body of another with the latter's consent, shall be punishable:

1. a) with rigorous imprisonment from five years to ten years, where the act is committed while the victim is still alive; or
2. b) with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years, where the act is committed after the death of the victim.

(3) Whoever takes an organ or part of the body of another by coercion, fraud, trickery or without the consent of the person concerned, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from ten years to twenty-five years.

(4) Whoever, apart from the cases specified in the above sub-articles, and contrary to law, regulations or rules, carries out scientific or medical examination, research or experiments on a person's body by coercing the person or without his consent or knowledge, or discloses or gives under any conditions to another person such information obtained in this manner, is punishable, according to the circumstances of the case, with simple imprisonment for not less than one year, or with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years.

(5) Where a juridical person commits one of the acts specified in sub-article (2), (3) or (4) above, it shall be liable to punishment in accordance with Articles 34 and 90(3) of this Code.

Article 586: Abduction of Another.

Whoever abducts another by violence, or commits such an act after having obtained his consent by intimidation or violence, trickery or deceit, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding seven years.

Article 587: Abduction of a Woman.

(1) Whoever with intent to marry a woman abducts her by violence, or commits such an act after having obtained her consent by intimidation, threat, trickery or deceit, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from three years to ten years.

(2) Where the act of abduction is accompanied by rape, the perpetrator shall be liable to the punishment prescribed for rape in this Code.

(3) The conclusion of a marriage between the abductor and the abducted subsequent to the abduction shall not preclude criminal liability.

(4) Nothing shall affect the right of the victim to claim compensation under civil law for the moral and material damage she may have sustained as a result of the abduction.

Article 588: Abduction of an Unconscious or Defenceless Woman.

Whoever knowing her conditions, intentionally carries off an insane, feeble-minded or retarded woman, one not fully conscious, or one who

is incapable or has been rendered incapable of defending herself or of offering resistance, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to fifteen years.

Article 589: Abduction of a Minor.

1)Whoever abducts another by violence, or commits such an act after having obtained his consent by intimidation or violence, trickery or deceit, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to fifteen years.

(2) Whoever knowing his conditions, intentionally carries off an insane, feeble-minded or retarded minor, one not fully conscious, or one who is incapable or has been rendered incapable of defending himself or of offering resistance, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from seven years to twenty years.

(3) Whoever carries off, abducts or improperly detains an infant or a young person in order to deprive his parents or lawful guardians of his custody, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years.

(4) Where the criminal returns the minor to his parents or lawful guardians within thirty days, and where none of the aggravating circumstances specified in the following Article has obtained, the punishment shall be simple imprisonment not exceeding one year.

Article 596: Enslavement.

(1) Whoever:

1. a) forcibly enslaves another, sells, alienates, pledges or buys him, or trades or traffics in or exploits him in any manner; or
2. b) keeps or maintains another in a condition of slavery, even in a disguised form,

punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to twenty years, and fine not exceeding fifty thousand Birr.

(2) Whoever, in order to deliver him at his place of destination, carries off or transports a person found in situations stated above, whether by land, by sea or by air, or conducts or aids such traffic, is liable to the punishment under sub-article (1)above.

(3) Where the crime is committed against children, women, feebleminded or sick persons, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from ten years to twenty years.

Article 597: Trafficking in Women and Children.

(1) Whoever by violence, threat, deceit, fraud, kidnapping or by the giving of money or other advantage to the person having control over a woman or a child, recruits, receives, hides, transports, exports or imports a woman or a minor for the purpose of forced labour, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to twenty years, and fine not exceeding fifty thousand Birr.

(2) Whoever knowingly carries off, or transports, whether by land, by sea or by air, the victim mentioned in sub-article (1), with the purpose stated therein, or conducts, or aids such traffic, is liable to the penalty prescribed under sub-article (1) above.

Article 598: Unlawful Sending of Ethiopians for Work Abroad.

(1) Whoever, without having obtained a license or by any other unlawful means, sends an Ethiopian woman for work abroad, is punishable with

rigorous imprisonment from five years to ten years, and fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand Birr.

(2) Where the Ethiopian woman sent abroad, owing to the act mentioned above, suffers an injury to her human rights, or to her life, body or psychological make-up, the sender shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to twenty years, and fine not exceeding fifty thousand Birr.

(3) The provisions of this Article shall apply where similar acts axe committed against Ethiopian men.

Article 602: Violation of the Right of Freedom of Movement.

(1) Whoever, not being authorized by law so to do, prevents another from moving freely within the territory of Ethiopia, is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine. (2) Where the criminal is a public servant, he shall be punishable under the relevant prolusion of this Code (Art. 407).

Article 603: Violation of the Right of Freedom to Work

1)Whoever, by intimidation, violence, fraud or any other unlawful means, compels another:

1. a) to accept a particular employment or particular conditions of employment, or to refuse or withhold his labour, with the object of imposing on an employer by force the acceptance or modification of terms of employment; or
2. b) to join a group or association having as its aim the objects mentioned in (a), or anyone who prevents another from freely leaving such a group or association, is punishable, upon complaint, with simple imprisonment for not less Than three months, or fine. (2) Where the person or persons causing intimidation or violence were carrying Weapons or other instruments; or where the prevention or coercion is the work of a large group, the punishment of imprisonment prescribed under sub-article (1) shall be imposed in combination with fine.

Article 634: Habitual Exploitation for Pecuniary Gain.

Whoever, for gain, makes a profession of or lives by procuring or on the prostitution or immorality of another, or maintains, as a landlord or keeper, a brothel, is punishable with simple imprisonment and fine.

Article 635: Traffic in Women and Minors.

Whoever, for gain, or to gratify the passions of another:

1. a) traffics in women or minors, whether by seducing them, by enticing them, or by procuring them or otherwise inducing them to engage in prostitution, even with their consent; or
2. b) keeps such a person in a brothel to let him out to prostitution, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years, and fine not exceeding ten thousand Birr, subject to the application of more severe provisions, especially where there is concurrent illegal restraint.

Article 636: Aggravation to the Crime.

In cases of professional procuring or traffic in persons, rigorous imprisonment shall be from three years to ten years, and the fine shall not exceed twenty thousand Birr where:

1. a) the victim is a minor; or

b) the victim is the wife or a descendant criminal, his adopted child or the child of his spouse, his brother or his sister, or his ward, or where the

victim has been entrusted, on any ground whatsoever, to his custody or care; or

1. c) the criminal has taken unfair advantage of the material or mental distress of his victim, or of his position as protector, employer, teacher, landlord or creditor, or of any other like situation; or
2. d) the criminal has made use of trickery, fraud, violence, intimidation, coercion, or where he has misused his authority over the victim; or
3. e) the victim is intended for a professional procurer, or has been taken abroad or where the victim's whereabouts or place of abode cannot be established; or
4. f) the victim has been driven to suicide by shame, distress or despair.

Article 637: Organization of Traffic in Women and Minors.

Whoever makes arrangements or provisions of any kind for the procurement of or traffic in women or minors, is punishable with simple imprisonment, or according to the circumstances of the case, especially where a professional procurer is involved or where the arrangements are fully made and intended to apply to many victims, with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding three years, and a fine which shall be not less than five hundred Birr in grave cases. 

Proclamation No 414/2004 The Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDF)

Chapter 2: Working Conditions of Young Workers

Article 89: General

1) For the purpose of this Proclamation, “Young worker” means a person who has attained the age of 14 but is not over the age of 18 years.

2) It is prohibited to employ persons under 14 years of age.

3) It is prohibited to employ young workers which on account of its nature or sure to the condition in which it is carried out, endangers the life or health of the young workers performing it.

4) The Minister may prescribe the list of activities prohibited to young workers which shall include in particular:

1. a) work in the transport of passenger and goods by road, railway, air and internal waterway, docksides and warehouses involving heavy weight liftings, pulling or pushing or any other related type of labour;
2. b) work connected with electric power generation plants transformers or transmission, lines;
3. c) underground work, such as mines, quarries and similar works;
4. d) work in sewers and digging tunnels

Article 90: Limits of Hours of Work. Normal hours of work for young workers shall not exceed seven hours a day.

1) Any person, for the purpose of exploitation, within the territory or outside of Ethiopia:

1. a) at the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or sending to abroad for work or apprenticeship;
2. b) by concluding adoption agreement or at the pretext of adoption;
3. c) for any other purpose; using threat or force or other means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, promise, abuse of power or by using the vulnerability of a person or recruits, transports, transfer, harbors or receives any person by giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment from 15 years to 25 years, and with fine from 150,000 to 300,000 birr.

(2) Where the crime stipulated under sub-article (1) of this article:

(a) is committed against a child, women or anyone with mental or physical impairment;

(b) resulted in physical or psychological harm on the victim;

(c) is committed using drugs, medicine or weapons as a means;

(d) Is committed by public official or civil servant in abusing of power; or

(e) is committed by a person who is parents, brother, sister, a guardian or a person having a power on the victim;

The punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment for not less than 25 years or life imprisonment and with fine from 200,000 to 500,000 Birr.

(3) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered trafficking in persons, even if this does not involve any of the means stipulated under sub-article (1) of this article.

Proclamation No 909/2015 Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (PDF)

Article 7

(1) Neither a man nor a woman who has not attained the full age of eighteen years shall conclude a marriage. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sub-Article (2) of this Article, the Minister of Justice may, on the application of the future spouses, or the parents or guardian of one of them, for serious cause, grant dispensation of not more than two years.

2. Definitions

4/ “Exploitation” include the following:

a) benefiting from prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation;

b) labor exploitation, forced labor or servitude;

c) slavery or practices similar to slavery;

d) sexual servitude and enslavement;

e) debt bondage or surrender as pledge for another;

f) removal or taking of organs of the human body;

g) forcefully engaging for begging;

h) engaging children for military service.

5/ “slavery” mean the status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised;

6/ “servitude” means the conditions or the obligations to work or to render services from which the person cannot escape, prevent or alter;

7/ “debt bondage” means the pledging by the debtor of his personal service or labor or those of a person under his control as security or payment for a debt, when the length and nature of service is not clearly defined or when the value of the services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt and resemble trafficking in human;

3. Trafficking in Persons

1/ Any person, for the purpose of exploitation, within the territory or outside of Ethiopia:

a) at the pretext of domestic or oversees employment or sending to aboard for work or apprenticeship;

b) by concluding adoption agreement or at the pretext of adoption; or

c) for any other purpose; using threat or force or other means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, promise, abuse of power or by using the vulnerability of a person or recruits, transports, transfer harbors or receives any person by giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment from 15 years to 25 years and with fine from 150,000 to 300,000 Birr.

2/ Where the crime stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article፡

a) is committed against child, women or anyone with mental or physical impairment;

b) resulted in physical or psychological harm on the victim;

c) is committed by using drugs, medicine or weapons as a means;

d) is committed by public official or civil servant in abusing of power; or

e) is committed by a person who is parents, brother, sister, a guardian or a person having a power on the victim; the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment not less than 25 years or life imprisonment and with fine from 200,000 to 500,000 Birr.

3/ The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered trafficking in persons even if this does not involve any of the means stipulated under sub article (1) of this article.

4. Assisting and Facilitating Trafficking in Persons

For the purpose of promoting human trafficking, any person who:

1/ permits his house building or other permits in his own name or in his control to be used for human trafficking knowingly or ought to have known;

2/ publishes, stores, disseminates, imports or exports any publication;

3/ manages, runs or finances by organizing any job recruitment agency;

4/ knowingly arrange transportation, transport or facilitate the transportation of victim by land, sea or air;

5/ assist, produce, provide, holds and falsifies any fraudulent or false identity card or travel document or assist to get these documents through illegal means for the benefit of other person; or

6/ holds as debt bondage, forcefully snatches, conceals, destroys or causes to destroy the victim’s identity card or travel documents to restrain his right to movement or access to public service; shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment from 15 years to 25 years and with fine from 150,000 to 300,000 Birr.

6. Aggravated Circumstances

Where the offence stipulated under Articles 3 and 5 of this Proclamation results in sever bodily injury or death to the victim, where the offender commits the offence as being a member, a leader or coordinator of an organized criminal group or where the crime is committed in large scale, the punishment shall be a life imprisonment or death penalty, depending on the case.

13. Criminal Liability of Legal Persons

1/ Notwithstanding Article 90 (1), (3) and (4) of the Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, where any offence stipulated under this Part is committed by a direct or indirect participation of juridical person, or the crime is committed in cooperation with organized criminal group or through an illegal association or juridical person established for trafficking or smuggling

a) the penalty shall be fine from 1,000,000 Birr to 5,000,000 Birr, where the crime is punishable with fine;

b) when the penalty provided for is imprisonment, the penalty shall be:

(1) a fine not exceeding 500,000 Birr for a crime punishable with not exceeding 5 years rigorous imprisonment;

(2) a fine from 500,000 Birr to 1,000,000 Birr for a crime punishable with not exceeding 10 years rigorous imprisonment;

(3) a fine from 1,000,000 Birr to 1,500,000 Birr for a crime punishable with not exceeding 15 years rigorous imprisonment;

(4) a fine not less than 2,500,000 Birr up to the maximum penalty stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article when the crime is punishable up to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and above.

c) in addition to the penalty stipulated under paragraph (a) and (b) of this Article, the juridical person or association shall be dissolved and its property or asset shall be confiscated.

2/ The penalty stipulated under sub-article (1) of this Article shall not relive the criminal liability of the owner or manager of the juridical person or association or the employee participated in the offence on behalf or for the benefit of the juridical person or association.

3/ When a private employment agency engages in employment exchange service send any Ethiopian national abroad for work, while its license is suspended, cancelled or having a licenses but commits or directly or indirectly aids to commit the crimes, in any manner, stipulated in this Proclamation, the punishments specified under sub-articles (1) and (2) of this Article shall apply.

PROCLAMATION 2015 (PDF)