Assistant Secretary Tom Malinowski travels to Uganda,Ethiopia

US Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Tom Malinowski is traveling to Uganda a and Ethiopia on November 14 and  17, respectively, US State Department Office of the Spokesperson said in a statement.

In Uganda, Malinowski will meet with government officials, opposition party leaders, journalists, and civil society leaders to discuss the country’s pre-electoral environment and civil society space ahead of the 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 Abeba 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. According to the statement, the Assistant Secretary will also meet with 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 Abeba Law School.