SC/8651
27 FEBRUARY 2006
Security Council Welcomes Results of 22 February Meeting at Headquarters Aimed at Resolving Current Impasse between Eritrea, Ethiopia
NEW YORK, 24 February (UN Headquarters) -- The Security Council this afternoon welcomed the successful meeting of the "Witnesses to the Algiers Agreement" on 22 February to resolve the current impasse between Eritrea and Ethiopia and called on both parties to show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force.
The Witnesses (Algeria, African Union, European Union, United States and United Nations) to the 12 December 2000 Algiers Agreement regarding the conflict between the two countries met at United Nations Headquarters, according to a statement by the Witnesses circulated among Council members by Council President John Bolton (United States). That statement endorsed an initiative by the United States (to be issued as document S/2006/126).
In its statement today, read by its President, the Council, recalling that under the Algiers Agreements both Eritrea and Ethiopia had agreed to accept the delimitation and demarcation decisions of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission as final and binding, called on both sides to implement the Commission's decisions without further delay. It urged the Commission to convene a meeting with the parties to prepare to resume demarcation.
Further, the Council demanded that the parties permit the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to perform its duties without restrictions and provide the Mission with the necessary access, assistance, support and protection, including its task to assist the Boundary Commission in the expeditious and orderly implementation of the Delimitation Decision, in accordance with Council resolutions 1430 (2002) and 1466 (2003).
The meeting began at 12:10 p.m. and adjourned at 12:14 p.m.
The full text of presidential statement S/PRST/2006/10 reads as follows:
"The Security Council welcomes the successful convening of the meeting of the Witnesses to the Algiers Agreements ("Witnesses") on 22 February 2006 in New York and their efforts to resolve the current impasse between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in order to promote stability between the parties and lay the foundation for sustainable peace in the region.
"The Security Council calls on both parties to show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against the other.
"The Security Council emphasizes that both parties bear the primary responsibility for the full, unconditional and expeditious implementation of the Algiers Agreements.
"The Security Council recalls that under the Algiers Agreements, both Eritrea and Ethiopia have agreed to accept the delimitation and demarcation decisions of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) as final and binding.
"In this regard, the Security Council calls on both sides to cooperate with the EEBC to implement its decisions without further delay.
"The Security Council urges the EEBC to convene a meeting with the parties to prepare to resume demarcation and strongly urges the two parties to attend the EEBC meeting and to cooperate with and abide by the requirements specified by the EEBC, in order to successfully conclude the demarcation process.
"The Security Council commends the role of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) and expresses once again its deep appreciation for the contribution and dedication of the troop-contributing countries to the work of UNMEE.
"The Security Council demands that the parties permit UNMEE to perform its duties without restrictions and provide UNMEE with the necessary access, assistance, support and protection required for the performance of these duties, including its mandated task to assist the EEBC in the expeditious and orderly implementation of the Delimitation Decision, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 1430 (2002) and 1466 (2003).
"The Security Council calls on Member States to provide continued support for UNMEE and contributions to the Trust Fund, established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1177 (1998) and referred to in article 4 (17) of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea on 12 December 2000, in order to support the demarcation process."
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