Human Rights Council 58th Session
Item 6: UPR Ethiopia
Thank you, President, Action Canada makes this statement on behalf of SRHR Africa Trust, Plan International, Forum for African Women Educationalists, and the Sexual Rights Initiative.
We welcome the recommendations made to Ethiopia emphasizing the need to strengthen universal health coverage (UHC), to improve health financing mechanisms, and to expand access to essential health services, particularly for rural and marginalized communities.
While progress has been made, significant gaps remain in ensuring equitable access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. Many adolescents and young people, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas, continue to face barriers such as inadequate health infrastructure, shortages of trained healthcare providers, and financial constraints that prevent them from accessing essential services.
We urge the government to increase investment in public health systems, ensuring the availability of contraception commodities and expanding and improving the accessibility particularly for adolescent and young people in rural areas.
Further, we welcome the recommendations calling for stronger action to end gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM). These harmful practices continue to violate the rights and dignity of women and girls, undermining their health, education, and future opportunities.
Despite national commitments, we remain deeply concerned about gaps in implementation. Weak enforcement of laws, inadequate resource allocation, and deeply rooted social norms that continue to hinder progress.
We urge the government to strengthen legal and policy frameworks, allocate sufficient resources to harmful practices prevention and response, and ensure that survivors receive comprehensive support. Efforts must go beyond policies and translate into concrete action—through meaningful youth participation, community engagement, education, and robust accountability mechanisms. Gender-responsive budgeting and stronger multi-sectoral collaboration are critical to accelerating progress.
Thank you.