Ethiopia and Eritrea attend first meeting of UN area commissions

Senior military officers from Eritrea and Ethiopia today attended the first meeting of several area commissions set up by the United Nations to promote better relations between the two countries, which fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.

The Sector Military Coordination Commissions were established by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) recently to address security issues at the local level and to encourage dialogue between UNMEE commanders and officers from both countries. They are also mandated to probe any security incidents along the southern boundary of the temporary security zone between the two Horn of Africa nations.

The first meeting of the Commission for Sector Centre was held today at the Mereb River Bridge, a symbolically important crossing between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Located in an undisputed area, the span, which was partially destroyed in the conflict but later rebuilt by UN peacekeepers, has been used for the exchange of prisoners.

The parties discussed cattle rustling, border crossings and both countries' military exercises in the area. They also talked about the need to allow UNMEE forces the freedom of movement to monitor the temporary security zone.

UNMEE Force Commander Major-General Robert Gordon voiced hope that the delegates would be able to work together closely "to ensure that continued military stability and security prevails in their areas of responsibility in order to maintain a secure environment in the border areas to allow demarcation to proceed."

In April 2002, an independent commission reached a decision on the boundary between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which both initially accepted, but Ethiopia subsequently informed the UN that it could not cooperate with the demarcation process. In a bid to break the impasse, Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently appointed former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy as Special Envoy, but one side has not received him.