The United Nations is meeting stiff resistance in its appointment of a special envoy to help end a border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Late last month, Lloyd Axworthy -‒ formerly Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs -‒ was appointed to the post with the blessing of the international community.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan wrote to both Ethiopia and Eritrea on December 23 informing them of his decision to employ Axworthy.
But while Ethiopia said it was keen to work with the former minister, Eritrea rejected Axworthy on the grounds that his appointment could open the door to revisiting decisions by an independent boundary commission.
Eritrean presidential spokesperson Yemane Gebremeskel has been quoted as saying, ”We have conveyed to the UN Secretary General that the concept of a special envoy is not acceptable to us as it would constitute an alternative mechanism to demarcate the border.”
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody two-and-a-half year war over their disputed common border in which the dead and wounded were estimated at 100 000, while 600 000 civilians were displaced. About half a million troops were involved in the conflict.
Under the Algiers Agreement, signed in December 2000 to end the fighting, both countries agreed to set up a boundary commission to demarcate their frontier.
However, Ethiopia rejected the commission’s April 2002 ruling on the town of Badme -‒ one of the focal points of the border conflict. The commission concluded that Badme lay in Eritrean territory, even though the town is currently administered by Ethiopia.
Physical demarcation of the border, due to start in October last year, has been postponed indefinitely.
According to diplomatic sources, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has written to Annan saying that the ”only way” to resolve the dispute between his country and Ethiopia is for the international community to ”compel” Addis Ababa to accept the commission’s rulings.
Ironically, the current leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea fought side by side for 17 years as rebels to oust Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. When Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia two years later, the border between the two states was left unclear in several places, notably in a triangle of land around Badme.
Ethiopia became landlocked after the 1993 secession, and was forced to rely on port facilities in the southern Eritrean city of Assab. Eritrea, in its turn, depends on Ethiopia for up to two-thirds of its trade, much of it in food. As a result, both countries have become economically intertwined, sometimes to a point of discomfort.
When Eritrea introduced its own currency in 1997 over Ethiopia’s objections, trade between the states became more difficult ‒- exacerbating tensions. The dispute about ownership of the Badme region, which arose in mid 1998, was simply the spark in the tinder box.
George Sommerwill, deputy spokesperson of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee), remains optimistic that Axworthy will be able to succeed in his new role. But, he also appears not to rule out the possibility of a change in policy as concerns the appointment of an envoy.
”The Secretary General is continuing his consultations with the two parties and will make his decision as soon as the consultations are completed,” he told a video-linked press briefing between the Ethiopian and Eritrean capitals.
Added Sommerwill: ”You can assume that this (Axworthy’s appointment) is a work-in-progress and consultations are going ahead.”
Unmee has 4 200 troops deployed in a 25km wide buffer area, called the Temporary Security Zone, between the two states.
Commenting on the situation in this region, Sommerwill said it ”continues to remain tense but militarily stable”.
”People in those areas are obviously wondering what is going to be the next step. They are hearing in the media somewhat unhelpful comments, perhaps about conflict, about the possibility of war, and obviously people are nervous,” he added.
In his report to the Security Council this week, Annan said the situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea ”remains difficult, even precarious.”
”I am concerned that a minor miscalculation by either side could have serious consequences,” he said, adding ”While there are no evident signs of preparations for hostilities on either side of the Temporary Security Zone, recent inflammatory rhetoric, in particular (with) Eritrea, has done nothing to advance the peace process.”
The UN secretary general also called for dialogue between the two countries and said in his report that the continued absence of discussions ”will make improvement of relations exceedingly difficult”.
Meanwhile international efforts to break the impasse in the peace process continue. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is to visit Ethiopia later this month to lend a hand in trying to get both countries to the negotiating table. And, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa Donald Yamamoto is currently in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, for talks with President Afewerki. – IPS