oea's blog

THE EEBC DECISION TEN YEARS LATER AND ETHIOPIA'S ILLEGAL OCCUPATION:
Demarcate Now! 10 Years is Long Enough. Peace Yes, War No.
By Mike Seium

THE EEBC DECISION TEN YEARS LATER AND ETHIOPIA'S ILLEGAL OCCUPATION:
A Decade of Silence Tantamount to Endorsement of Illegal Acts of War - UNSC's Incompetence

By Amanuel Tseggai

Its now been ten years since the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commision (EEBC), handed down a verdict detailing the boundary lines between the two countries on the bases of pertinent documents and colonial treaties. April 13th, 2002 would have been the exact date the Commission had reached this UN endorsed decision which both parties agreed to accept as final and binding.

THE EEBC DECISION TEN YEARS LATER AND ETHIOPIA'S ILLEGAL OCCUPATION:
Eritrea will Foil all Maneuvers to Subvert the Mandate of the EEBC
By Johannes Abraham

Eritrean sanctions must be annulled and repealed today!

The UN-Security Council and the Guarantors of the Algiers Peace Treaty should finally do something that will bring peace to the war ravaged Horn of Africa. I am strongly urging you to live up to the legal and moral obligation, and ideals of the UN-Charter. I am strongly urging you to push Ethiopia to implement the final and binding demarcation decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) without preconditions or further delay. Ethiopia’s refusal to implement this decision is at the heart of the entire crisis in the Horn of Africa. It is this issue that must be addressed first and foremost.

In December 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed the Algiers Peace Agreement on their disputed borders allowing a Hague-based independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) to render a "final and binding" decision. The AU, EU, UN and USA witnessed this historic agreement as 'Guarantors of the Peace Agreement." And in April 13, 2002, the EEBC reached a verdict that was hailed by the U.N. and AU and EU. Eritrea accepted the decision. While Ethiopia, which initially appeared to accept it and in fact boasted of its favorable outcome, reneged on delimitation implementation.

Occupiers, wherever they are, think, behave, and act the same. Who would have imagined 20 years back the Weyane and its flag-bearer Meles Zenawi would outdo Mengstu Hailemariam and the Emperor of Ethiopia in inflicting untold pain and occupying land that belong to Eritrea? They are so consumed on their land grapping exercises that they say and do everything that defies logic.

It is now 10 years since the Boundary Commission passed its verdict. Had the agreement been honoured the border would have been fully demarcated by November 2003 leading to peace and stability in the region. Unfortunately Ethiopia has refused to accept the decision of the Boundary Commission. Ten years on, Ethiopia is still occupying sovereign Eritrean territory.

For the sake of justice... if there is any justice left in you, which I hope there may still be, it would only make sense if you as guarantors of the peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, go back to it and oblige Ethiopia to respect the ruling of the 'Border Commission'.

April 13th is the 10th anniversary of the first in the EEBC final and binding delimitation and demarcation Decisions. These decisions have not been implemented and they seem to have been totally ignored by the UN Security Council the rest of the world. But as people of repeated UN injustice we remember this Day too; it will never be forgotten.

THE EEBC DECISION TEN YEARS LATER AND ETHIOPIA'S ILLEGAL OCCUPATION:
TO THE UNSC TEN YEARS OF NO WAR NO PEACE
By Berhe Woldemichael