Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

November 13, 2015

Assistant Secretary Tom Malinowski will travel to Uganda and Ethiopia on November 14 and November 17, respectively.

In Uganda, he will meet with government officials, opposition party leaders, journalists, and civil society leaders to discuss that country’s pre-electoral environment and civil society space ahead of February 2016 national elections. He will also speak at an elections-related event at Makerere University.

In Ethiopia, he will follow up on conversations in Addis Ababa this past July between President Obama and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn about how to best advance democracy and human rights priorities in Ethiopia and find common ground on issues such as media and press freedom and civil society space. The Assistant Secretary will meet with government officials, human rights activists, think tanks, and journalists, and bloggers who have been released from prison in recent months. He will also deliver remarks and engage in a dialogue with students at Addis Ababa Law School.