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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN should go further, Asmara says

NAIROBI, 9 January 2004 (IRIN) - Eritrea has welcomed a statement by the UN Security Council on the border situation with Ethiopia, but says it does not go far enough.

In the statement issued on Wednesday, Council members expressed "disappointment" over Ethiopia's rejection of an independent border ruling and they reaffirmed the final and binding nature of the verdict.

But Eritrea's acting Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed said the Security Council "could have gone beyond that".

"While Eritrea welcomes the reaffirmation of final and binding and the rejection of an alternative mechanism, words are not enough," he told IRIN on Friday.

In the Algiers peace accord of December 2000 which officially ended their bloody two-year war, both countries agreed that an independent Boundary Commission would rule on a new border and that the decision would be final and binding. But Ethiopia has since rejected parts of the ruling which place disputed territory in Eritrea.

The Security Council statement also stressed there was no alternative mechanism to the Boundary Commission. Ethiopia has described the Commission's ruling as "illegal" and called for a new solution to the issue.

Ali Abdu recalled that the peace agreements between the two sides allow the Security Council to take measures against any party which does not comply with the ruling.

"The Security Council should take tangible measures against Ethiopia for refusing the decision," he said.

Eritrea wants the Council to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN charter which includes imposing sanctions against any offending side.

[See also "UN urges Ethiopia to cooperate with border commission"]

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

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