A/HRC/4/9/Add.3 page 7 Administrative Council (PMAC) Government, commonly referred to as the “Derg”.2 The Derg had overthrown Emperor Haile-Selassie in 1974, and continued a process of Marxist centralization of power and “nation-building”. Under both previous Governments, Amharic was imposed as the single official language of Ethiopia. An Amhara-dominated official State culture was promoted, alongside institutional reforms to extend the authority of the central State apparatus. The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) successfully liberated the Tigray region from Derg control by 1989 and established the EPRDF as a coalition of ethnically-based opposition groups to continue the war against the Derg. The objectives of the EPRDF, later articulated in the Constitution, were to establish a democratic Ethiopia and relative cultural and political autonomy for its ethnic groups. 11. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, drafted and adopted in 1994 following a period of transitional government, is the supreme law within Ethiopia with which all other laws, practices and decisions must conform. The independent expert welcomed the Constitution as a comprehensive and valuable foundation for rights, freedoms, and equality in Ethiopia.3 12. The Constitution provides detailed provisions for the protection and promotion of human and democratic rights in chapter 3, and article 13 states that: “The fundamental rights and freedoms … shall be interpreted in a manner conforming to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international covenants on human rights and international instruments adopted by Ethiopia.” 13. Article 39 of the Constitution establishes a unique and elaborate federal governmental structure under which ethnic groups are entitled to self-determination or self-government, including the establishment of regional government institutions within ethnically defined territories. Uniquely, the Constitution provides the ultimate right of secession for a nation, nationality or people, under certain conditions and following a clearly defined process. 14. The Constitution establishes the system of ethnically-based federalism, which marks a significant departure from the political visions of previous Governments, and crucially brings to the fore the civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights of all Ethiopia’s diverse groups. 15. Nine states were established according to chapter 4 of the Constitution,4 which states in article 46 that these states: “shall be delimited on the basis of the settlement patterns, language, 2 “Derg” is Amharic for Council or Committee. 3 The Independent expert noted that senior government representatives with whom she met, at both the national and regional levels, commonly had copies of the Constitution on their desks, and demonstrated knowledge of its provisions appropriate to their positions. 4 Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somalia, Benshangul/Gumuz, the State of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), the State of the Gambella Peoples, and the State of the Harari People.