UN welcomes steps by Eritrea and Djibouti to end border dispute

The United Nations today welcomed steps by Eritrea and Djibouti to resolve their border dispute through mediation by Qatar, saying Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was ready to provide technical support if needed to facilitate a settlement.

Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council that the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, had written to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon informing him that Eritrean troops had withdrawn from the disputed areas of Ras Doumiera and Doumiera Island and that Qatari military observers had been deployed to those localities pending a final settlement.

This follows the signing of an agreement by Eritrea and Djibouti on 6 June, under the auspices of Qatar, in which the neighbouring countries decided to resolve their border conflict through a negotiated settlement.

In March 2008, Eritrea had deployed troops and military equipment to the two areas adjoining its de facto border with Djibouti.

“The Government of Qatar has confirmed to us that cooperation between both countries and the Qatari forces is good and that the Qatari forces will remain deployed in both countries until the dispute between them has been settled,” Mr. Pascoe said.

He said that the UN believed that States in the Horn of Africa, the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union and the UN should work together to effectively address inter-linked conflicts in the region, including Somalia and the long-standing border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

In his latest report on compliance with a Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions on Eritrea for its activities in Djibouti and Somalia, the Secretary-General says that Eritrea deserves credit for its recent constructive engagement with its neighbours and the international community and urges the country to provide evidence that it is complying with the resolution.

“Despite the Government of Eritrea’s long-standing positions on Somalia and Djibouti, it has recently taken a number of steps towards constructive engagement with its neighbours and the wider international community,” Mr. Ban says in the report.

Mr. Pascoe said aspects of the resolution relating to Somalia will be addressed by the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, whose members were appointed on 1 July. “We look forward to the Monitoring Group’s independent reporting on Eritrea compliance with the provisions of the relevant resolutions,” he said.

In a related development, the Security Council today maintained the exemption of activities related to the delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia from restrictions imposed under the Council’s arms embargoes on Somalia and Eritrea.

“The Security Council noted that the measures in paragraph 5 of resolution 1916 remain necessary to address the situation in Somalia, which continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,” the Council said in a press statement.