New York, 9-7-2021 (SUNA) – The United Nations Security council session devoted to the issue of the Greater Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has just been concluded after listening to the three belligerent parties, namely Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia as well as a number of UNSC delegates, but without spelling out an announcement which could take some time to come out.
Tunisia, non-permanent member in the council, had submitted a draft resolution before the council calling for halting the second filling of the dam lake which is set for this month of July and coming month of August, while at the same time calling for resumption of the negotiations that are aimed to reaching a binding agreement within six month, coinciding with the position called for by the Sudan and by Egypt.
Member states were agreed on calling on the three parties to continue the negotiations for reaching a solution acceptable to all three parties, they also stressed that such a solution was necessary and feasible.
However each of the intervening states has looked at the issue before the council and focused on what it sees as urgent and necessary within the development of the disputed about GERD and the means to resolve it.
The Tunisian representative, Al Monsif Al Baati has expressed his hope that the three parties would reach a binding agreement on GERD preserving the water right of all parties. He also stressed that this was possible if an agreement is reached on abstaining from carrying out unilateral measures. He expressed his confidence in the ability of the three states under the auspices of the African union to overcome their current differences.
Russian representative has on his part warned against threat to use forces underlining that this would not lead to a solution of the problem but rather to aggravating it further.
The USA permanent representative to the United Nations has meanwhile said a balanced solution on GERD could be reached through the political commitment of the three parties. The representative called for abstaining from any measures that could complicate the negotiations
China representative has underlined that GERD could be a nucleus for regional cooperation and that the states concerned should work to resolve their differences via dialogue
Egypt’s minister for foreign affairs, Samih Shukri, told the council that the lives of over one hundred million people are in danger and urged the council to adopt the Tunisian draft resolution. He underlined that his country would protect its rights by all means, pointing out that his country has adopted th African union initiative to hold negations and that this continued for one whole year without any resolution.
The Egyptian minister has underline that the Ethiopian conduct is exposing the peace and security in the region to danger and that Cairo seeks to reach a legal and faire agreement that contains measures which observe the situation of the two downstream countries, particularly during the dry seasons, beside assure that Egypt’s water security is not jeopardized.
The Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Sileshi Bekele, said that the Security Council would not discuss a “development project” to generate electricity and that disputes over trans-border water did not fall within the mandate of the Security Council and that his country, was willing to continue negotiations and that the solution was within, blaming each of Egypt and Sudan for failure to reach an acceptable solution, and he said that his country does not succumb to pressure.
Source: SUNA
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