May 14, 2002
The UN Security Council called in envoys from Ethiopia and Eritrea to express concern at the slow pace of implementing a ruling on the boundary between the former warring neighbours, diplomats said.
At the start of the separate meetings on Monday, Singapore's UN Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, the current council president, commended both countries' commitment to accept last month's ruling of the independent Boundary Commission. Council members want the ruling implemented in "an expeditious and orderly manner through dialogue" and other UN efforts, he said, and "any unilateral action ... is unacceptable".
The Horn of Africa neighbours fought a brutal 2 1/2-year war ostensibly over their 1 000km border. Under the December 2000 agreement that ended the conflict, both sides agreed to the demarcation of the border by the commission, which issued its ruling on April 13.
Both sides claim Badme
The border is to be physically demarcated over the next year or so, but the Boundary Commission has not marked the border town at the centre of the dispute, Badme, on any of the maps it has published. Both sides have claimed the ruling gives them control of Badme.
Ethiopia protested that the UN peacekeeping force allowed journalists from Eritrea to visit Badme, which is administered by Ethiopia, a few days after the ruling and has called for the United Nations to remove the Dutch commander. Ethiopia closed its borders to UN traffic on April 27 to protest against the trip, seriously handicapping peacekeeping efforts. It lifted the ban on May 6 after the UN mission apologised for the incident.
Mahbubani's statement, released after Monday's closed meeting, said the Security Council fully supports and has "utmost confidence" in the UN commander, Major-General Patrick Cammaert. UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said the commander also has "the full confidence" of Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Insist UN commander be replaced
Ethiopia is still insisting that Cammaert be replaced, and diplomats said its continuing opposition could hinder implementation of the commission's agreement because the UN commander is supposed to facilitate meetings. The spokesperson for the peacekeeping force was recalled to New York after the incident, Okabe said.
A meeting to discuss implementation of the ruling is scheduled for May 21 in The Hague, Netherlands. Representatives from the Boundary Commission, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the UN peacekeeping force are expected to attend, Mahbubani said.
Diplomats hope the meeting will resolve the disputes among the parties.
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