Ethiopia

Landlocked in the Horn of Africa and bordering Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea and Kenya, Ethiopia is the second most populous country on the African Continent. One of only two countries to stay independent during the European colonial period, while formally a parliamentary republic, Ethiopia is accused of being effectively a one-party state, with suppression of opposition, media and civil society. Despite the death of its long time Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, in 2012, there is nothing to suggest this will change with continuing state repression, significant gender discrimination, including violence, and severe restrictions on the operations of NGOs and civil society groups.