The Quest for Self-Determination in Regional States of Ethiopia

The right to self-determination for nations, nationalities and peoples is one of the pillars of the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia. This right is also inscribed under various international organizations and covenants. What is unique in Ethiopia is that, the right is stretched to include secession in contrast to the UN and AU's principle of maintaining the territorial integrity of member states. Following the reconstitution of the Ethiopian brand of ethnic-based federalism, various nationalities claimed their right for self-administration. The Yem people are one of the country's eighty ethnic groups who pushed the government for the enforcement of their right. However, owing to a combination of factors elaborated in this book, the major actors to solve ethnic conflict including the House of the Federation lend their hand after a long delay. This delay created an opportunity for ethnic conflict to occur. Although conflicts at a large-scale are reduced, minor ethnic conflicts are common here and there. Unless these conflicts are averted at their embryonic stage, there would be a probability to grow in magnitude and endangers the infant federal state arrangement.