The Board agreed to remove Ethiopia from the Validation schedule

Board decision

The Board  agreed to remove Ethiopia from the Validation schedule for the time being, given that the conditions are not in place for the targeted assessment to proceed.

Background

Ethiopia joined in 2014 and was last validated in 2019. The last report was published in August 2021. Ethiopia was suspended in July 2022 for missing its reporting deadline. Implementation had been stalled as the MSG has not met since 2022. The national Secretariat has been disbanded. The decline in government engagement coincided with the domestic conflict in the country, despite a negotiated peace agreement in November 2022.

The Board had mandated the International Secretariat to conduct a targeted assessment on Requirement 1 under the 2019 Standard, which commenced in April 2025. Despite repeated outreach, including on ministerial level, the Secretariat has not received any response from national stakeholders regarding the commencement of the targeted assessment, submission of Validation templates and stakeholder consultations. The conditions are not in place for the targeted assessment to proceed.