Eritrea accuses Security Council members of allowing Ethiopia to disregard law

Ethiopia seems to be planning to renounce the accord that ended its border war with Eritrea so that it can renew hostilities, the latter’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, accusing some Security Council members of accommodating the interests of Ethiopia despite its repeated breaches of international law.

Speaking at the Assembly’s annual high-level debate at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Osman Saleh said “the simple truth is that Ethiopia has refused to cooperate” since 2002 with the binding decisions of a boundary commission charged with demarcating the border between the two African countries.

“In flagrant breach of international law, the Charter of the UN, and the Algiers Peace Agreement [which ended hostilities in 2000], Ethiopia continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territories through military forces,” Mr. Saleh said, noting that unlawful Ethiopian settlements have been in place for five years.

He said Ethiopia has been able to frustrate the implementation of the boundary commission’s decision – which were supposed to have been completed in 2003 – “because of the unwarranted positions of some UN Security Council Member States, and especially the United States of America, which has regrettably chosen to placate Ethiopia at the expense of international law and the interests of regional peace and security.”

Mr. Saleh said Eritrea had learned of a letter from the Ethiopian Foreign Minister indicating his country intended to try to renounce the two Algiers Agreements.

The Government in Addis Ababa, he said, “seems to be planning to use its unlawful attempt at renunciation… as a precursor for initiation of renewed hostilities.”

Saying the boundary commission had reached a crossroads, Mr. Saleh called on the UN and the Security Council to exercise their “unequivocal legal and moral responsibilities” to ensure the final border decision is marked on the ground in accordance with earlier agreements.

He added that “some powers with major interest in the region need to reassess their policies so that the peoples in the region can live in peace and harmony.”

Using the right of reply, Ethiopia’s representative said his country was familiar with the “baseless accusations” of Eritrea, which he said was the obstacle to the full implementation of the Algiers Agreements and the boundary commission’s decision.

Eritrea had moved its forces into the temporary security zone (TSZ) created by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) as a demilitarized area, he said, and restricted the legitimate work of the UN mission.