"The passage of this historic law represents a significant milestone in Ethiopia's long history of welcoming and hosting refugees from across the region for decades," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement. Ethiopia hosts refugees from conflict-wracked neighbours like South Sudan and Somalia along with authoritarian states like Sudan and Eritrea.
"As some western countries have adopted xenophobic policies while turning away refugees, we are pleased that Ethiopia has passed this revised refugee law," said Stine Paus, the Norwegian Refugee Council's director in Ethiopia. The head of the country's investment commission Abebe Abebayehu said the revised law is part of a plan to spur employment in Ethiopia, which despite rapid economic growth still struggles with one of Africa's highest rates of poverty.