Science Blog -- STATEMENTS TO SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA

Background

When the Security Council met this morning to consider the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea, it had before it a progress report of the Secretary-General (document S/2003/858) which recommends an extension of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) for a further six months, until 15 March.

The report recalls that UNMEE was created for limited purposes and was never meant to be a permanent arrangement. The time may be approaching when the parties will need more active assistance in fulfilling both the letter and spirit of the Algiers Agreements and concluding the process without further delay. Some of the parties’ closest friends and allies could play a crucial role in this regard.

The Secretary-General says the international community stands ready to assist the two parties. However, as stated in the Security Council’s presidential statement of 17 July (document SPRST/2003/10), the delays in the demarcation process are a source of concern, particularly given the operational cost of UNMEE at a time of growing demands on United Nations peacekeeping.

He observes in the report that the overall security situation in the Temporary Security Zone and the adjacent areas remains generally calm and secure, and the military postures of the two parties indicate that they have no intention of resuming hostilities. Indeed, they have continued to emphasize that they need peace, in order to focus on the challenges they each face domestically. Incidents at the local level in and around the Temporary Security Zone have become more frequent, however, which is a source of concern. This increase may be a sign of growing uneasiness among the people living in the border area, resulting from the uncertainties inherent in an un-demarcated border.

Council members will recall that, in July, the Boundary Commission, in an addendum to its ninth report, issued a schedule of the order of activities ahead, he says. The first was the appointment of field liaison officers for the remaining demarcation activities. Eritrea has now made these appointments, and Ethiopia should do the same without delay. The schedule also called for the commencement late in August of the factual survey of the Tserona and Zalambessa areas, as well as the field assessment of pillar sites in Sectors West and Centre.

The report states further that, in the absence of Ethiopia’s field liaison officers, as well as in view of the fact that the Commission’s field offices are still awaiting the necessary security assurances from the parties, it has not been possible for the Commission to commence the field surveys, which were to be completed in September. Another crucial test of the parties’ commitment to the process will come in October, when pillar emplacement is scheduled to begin in Sector East. The Secretary-General calls on the two Governments to provide full cooperation to the Commission and its field offices so that the border can be demarcated as soon as possible.

The Secretary-General reiterates that a lasting peace would require a relationship between the parties that enabled them to address, through peaceful discourse, any problems that might arise between them. An important step in that direction would be the initiation of political dialogue between them, with a view to the eventual normalization of relations. Sadly, in the past three months, neither party has made discernible moves towards true neighbourliness. As a result, both sides are left with a “cold peace” that is not conducive to the benefits -– economic, social, cultural and other –- that would normally accrue to peoples sharing a long border. The peace process must not be allowed to lose momentum, he says.

Annexed to the report is the tenth report on the work of the Boundary Commission. A second annex lists contributions to UNMEE as at 29 August.