ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Security Council extends UNMEE mandate by six months

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NAIROBI, 15 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) until 15 September 2005, and called on both countries to refrain from any threat of use of force against each other.

In a unanimous resolution, the Council urged the two Horn of Africa states not to increase troop numbers in areas adjacent to the Temporary Security Zone and to give serious consideration to returning to the 16 December 2004 levels of deployment.

It stressed that Ethiopia and Eritrea had the primary responsibility for the implementation of the 2000 Algiers peace agreement and the decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission.

UNMEE, a 3,335-strong peacekeeping force, monitors a buffer zone along the 1,000-km-long border between the two countries. Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a two-year bloody war sparked in 1998 by a border dispute.

The war ended with a ceasefire in 2000, but tensions have persisted because of a deadlock over the decision by the international boundary commission to award the town of Badme, previously under Ethiopian administration, to Eritrea.

Both parties had initially pledged to abide by the ruling of the commission, but Ethiopia later objected to decision on Badme and the demarcation of the border broke down.

The Council urged both parties to "cooperate fully and promptly with the Boundary Commission and to create the necessary conditions for demarcation to proceed expenditiously".

Last November, Ethiopia said that it accepted the boundary commission's ruling "in principle", but called for dialogue on how it should be implemented in the disputed areas of the border. Eritrea, on the other hand, rejected the idea of dialogue and insisted on the full implemention of the commission's ruling.

The Council also expressed concern over "Ethiopia's current lack of cooperation with the Commission, including the refusal to participate in the meeting of 22 February 2005".

It said it was disappointed by "the continuing refusal of Eritrea to engage with the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea, whose good offices represent a concrete opportunity for both parties to move the peace process forward".

Adding that it was also concerned over the worsening humanitarian situation in the two countries and the implications this could have for the peace process, the Council urged UN-member states to continue to provide prompt and generous support for humanitarian operations in the two countries.

The UN decison-making body reiterated its full support for the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea, Lloyd Axworthy, in his efforts to facilitate the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the decision of the Boundary Commission and the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

In February, the Council had again warned that the military build-up on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea could "aggravate" simmering tensions. The European Union also said it was "particularly concerned" about the situation.

[ENDS]