A Week in the Horn February 22, 2008

Minister Seyoum recalled that it was the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities which had established the TSZ and provided for the mandate and deployment of UNMEE. The Agreement guaranteed the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone (article 14) and constituted the foundation of the Algiers peace process. Minister Seyoum’s letter noted that the guarantee included measures “to be taken by the international community should one or both of the Parties violate this commitment, including appropriate measures to be taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter by the UN Security Council…”. Other elements of the guarantee included the creation of UNMEE and its activities in the Temporary Security Zone. All of this had been endorsed by the United Nations as one of the Witnesses to the Agreement.

Minister Seyoum pointed out that notwithstanding these guarantees, and the UN’s commitment to the Agreement by the establishment of UNMEE, the Security Council had repeatedly failed to take any action, and it was this that had led to the present humiliating and ignominious position of UNMEE, emboldening Eritrea to stop fuel and food supplies and effectively expel the Mission from the Temporary Security Zone while preventing it from seeking temporary shelter on the Ethiopian side of the border.

Eritrea, the Minister underlined, had consistently and flagrantly violated the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities from its inception. It failed to sign the Status of Forces Agreement with UNMEE and had steadily and persistently increased its infiltration of troops and heavy weaponry into the TSZ. It had subsequently introduced restrictions on UNMEE helicopter flights, expelled members of UNMEE on the basis of their nationality, and imposed additional restrictions on UNMEE operations, most recently refusing to supply fuel and now food.

Minister Seyoum said that Ethiopia now believed it had become necessary for the Security Council to take action to discharge its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations and under the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities. Ethiopia now expected the Security Council to move quickly to enforce Eritrean compliance with the demands of the Security Council, to restore the full and complete integrity of the Temporary Security Zone and of UNMEE, and to ensure the safety of all UNMEE personnel.

It is clear from Eritrea’s latest communication to the President of the Security Council and the latest actions of the Eritrean Government that one member state, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, and in open defiance of the Security Council, is intending to hold UN Peacekeepers hostage. What is now at stake is not just the fate of these Peacekeepers but the very future of UN Peacekeeping and the authority of the Security Council itself. A failure to act by the Security Council threatens to undermine the whole concept of international peace-keeping and the confidence of all the counties which regularly contribute troops to the peacekeeping forces. The present situation can be seen as having arisen specifically from the Security Council’s previous failures to confront the measures taken by Eritrea against UNMEE, in violation of the Algiers Agreements, and in despite numerous Security Council Resolutions. The Council was expected to take action under Chapter VII of the Charter, pursuant to Article 14 of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities. The two parties themselves mandated the Council to do so as one of the guarantees of the Agreement. The Council’s failure to discharge its responsibility has had direct implications for the present situation. It is in these circumstances that Ethiopia now believes there is no alternative to immediate and punitive sanctions against Eritrea, to protect the personnel of UNMEE, and to ensure that the Security Council discharges its proper responsibilities under the UN Charter, and under the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities.

This was underlined by the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Tekeda Alemu, when he met the resident Ambassadors of the Security Council permanent and non-permanent members on Wednesday. The State Minister emphasized that the timidity of the Security Council had contributed to the humiliation that UNMEE was now suffering

Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan ‘Adde’ this week repeated once again his government’s readiness to talk to those who were fighting in Mogadishu, making it clear that the government wanted full and complete national reconciliation. “Nobody”, he said, “is exempted from negotiations”. The Prime Minister called on the elders, religious leaders, women, youth and Somali intellectuals to contribute in pacifying the nation. The Prime Minister arrived back in Mogadishu at the end of last week after what officials described as a successful overseas trip which had taken him to Nairobi, Brussels and Paris. He was given significant support for the commitment of the TFG to reconciliation, to strengthening the security sector and increasing the capacity of the TFG. He was also able to reiterate his agenda for reconciliation, underlining the need for strengthening AMISOM, and attaining the agenda of the transitional institutions.

Meanwhile, a high level delegation of TFG officials will be arriving in Addis Ababa this weekend for a public finance management training course to be held over several weeks at the Ethiopian Management Institute at Debre Zeit. The course will be opened by the Minister of Finance and Development, Ato Sufian Ahmed. Observers at the course are expected to include the AU Commission, the AU Chairperson, as well as representatives from the EU Troika, the US, China, Japan and UNDP.

The World Bank is a key development partner for Ethiopia. Since the beginning of its cooperation with Ethiopia, the World Bank group has approved a total of US $ 5.8 billion for 117 development projects and programs. Its support has been directed towards achieving sustainable economic growth. It has also undertaken a significant number of important studies to help the government to address different developmental and policy issues. The Bank’s current portfolio of projects amounts to US $ 2.1 billion supporting implementation of 22 projects.

The World Bank’s active projects are fully aligned with Ethiopia’s objectives of promoting economic growth and poverty reduction, covering pro-poor growth, infrastructural and human resource development, capacity building, the provision of basic services and increasing agricultural productivity. Nearly 50% of the Bank’s current activity is allocated to infrastructural development, for roads and power. The World Bank supports the direction, contents and targets of Ethiopia’s Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP). Current Bank interventions are aligned with PASDEP objectives. A dialogue is currently taking place to discuss the Country Assistance Strategy Paper (CAS) for 2008-2010 which is under preparation. In its World Development Report of 2007, the World Bank unambiguously endorsed Ethiopia’s long-term national development strategy. Under this, Ethiopia has been exerting maximum efforts to bring about a fundamental transformation of the economy and achieve sustainable, rapid and all-inclusive economic development in the country. Its efforts, together with a stable macroeconomic environment and cultivation of private sector development, have resulted in impressive and broad based economic growth over the past four years.

Sustaining this impressive performance and building on these achievements, the country anticipates becoming a middle income country within the next twenty or so years. Ethiopia will leave no stone unturned to achieve this vision; it also has a firm belief that its development partners, including the World Bank, will be prepared to enhance their support, by scaling-up resource allocations. Ethiopia welcomes the expressed commitment by Executive Director Majnoni that the Bank would do whatever possible to help Ethiopia's success story continue. Ethiopia now calls upon other development partners to follow the example of the World Bank, to bolster their support, and intensify their development partnership.