UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed Ethiopia’s commitment to ensuring aid workers can access the war-ravaged Tigray region, his Spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.
The development comes a day after Mr. Guterres and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed discussed the extremely concerning humanitarian situation in the northern province.

Eight months of brutal fighting between federal forces and regional troops have displaced nearly two million people, while 400,000 are in famine, with another 1.8 million not far behind.

Assurances and commitment

“The Secretary-General welcomed the Prime Minister’s assurances that the Government of Ethiopia will facilitate immediate access to Tigray for humanitarian organizations, as well as the Prime Minister’s commitment that essential basic services, including power and communications, will resume swiftly,” said Stéphane Dujarric, the UN Spokesperson.

Last week the Ethiopian Government declared a unilateral ceasefire, and the UN has been appealing for resupplies of aid and fuel to be allowed in.

The UN’s humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, this week reported that the lack of fuel has affected transportation of emergency relief and commercial supplies into Tigray, and water access at displacement camps in the regional capital, Mekelle.

Commercial flights to and from the city, which had been halted on 23 June, were still suspended.

Support for agriculture

“The Secretary-General also acknowledged the Government’s pledge to use the ceasefire to facilitate urgent humanitarian assistance, including regular United Nations humanitarian flights into Tigray, as well as support for agricultural activities,” the statement continued. 

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call that all parties must meet their obligations to protect civilians, provide unimpeded humanitarian access and to observe international humanitarian law.”

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United Nations Security Council members on Thursday backed African Union mediation efforts between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan in a dispute over the operation of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, urging the parties to resume talks.

Egypt and Sudan both called on the U.N. Security Council to help resolve the dispute after Ethiopia earlier this week began filling the reservoir behind its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for a second year. Ethiopia is opposed to any Security Council involvement.

“A balanced and equitable solution to the filling and operation of the GERD can be reached with political commitment from all parties,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council.

“This begins with the resumption of productive substantive negotiations. Those negotiations should be held under the leadership of the African Union, and should recommence with urgency,” she said, adding that the African Union “is the most appropriate venue to address this dispute.”

Many council diplomats were wary of involving the body in the dispute – beyond holding the meeting on Thursday – as they are concerned it could set a precedent that could allow other countries to seek Security Council help with water disputes.

Ethiopia says the dam is crucial to its economic development and to provide power. But Egypt views it as a grave threat to its Nile water supplies, on which it is almost entirely dependent. Sudan, also downstream, has expressed concern about the dam’s safety and impact on its dams and water stations.

Tunisia has proposed a draft Security Council resolution that would call for a binding agreement between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on the operation of the giant dam within six months. It was not clear if or when it could be put to a vote.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called on the Security Council to adopt the resolution.

“We do not expect the council to formulate solutions to the outstanding legal and technical issues, nor do we request that the council impose the terms of a settlement,” he said. “This resolution is political in nature and its purpose is to re-launch negotiations.”

Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi also urged the council to act by calling for a resumption of negotiations and on Ethiopia to abstain from any unilateral measures.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, said an agreement on the operation of the $5 billion dam is “within reach” and he described it as regrettable that Egypt and Sudan pushed for the Security Council meeting.

“We urge our Egyptian and Sudanese brothers and sisters to understand that the resolution to the Nile issue will not come from the Security Council. It can only come from good faith negotiations,” he told the council.

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia suggested the countries meet while in New York to try to resolve some issues.

(REUTERS)

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Ethiopia has urged Egyptian and Sudanese to understand that a resolution to the Nile issue won’t come from the Security Council; it can only come from good faith negotiations under the auspices of the AU with due care for the wellbeing and development of each other.

The remark was made by Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Sileshi Bekele on Thursday at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open briefing on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In his briefing the Minister said Ethiopians have best wishes and neighborly care for their compatriots in Egypt and Sudan and added “We have all the intention to live together in peace and cooperate for our mutual benefit. The GERD demonstrates this core principle of collective wellbeing and prosperity.”

Ethiopia believes that an agreement is within reach, given the necessary political will and the commitment to negotiate in good faith, Sileshi said.

Ethiopia’s longstanding commitment to the AU-led process is underpinned by a belief that Africans have the wisdom, the technical expertise, and more importantly, the agency to address their challenges, Sileshi underscored.

“The phased-approach proposed by AU Chair could help us break the quagmire,” he pointed out.

The minister further said in his briefing that “We’re dealing with a hydroelectric dam project, which is not the first of its kind in the world. We are building a reservoir to store water that will generate electricity by hitting turbines. For context, GERD reservoir is two and half times smaller than that of the Aswan Dam.”

Sileshi told the council that what distinguishes GERD from other projects is the extent of hope and aspiration it generated for 65 million Ethiopians that have no access to electricity. It’s also unique because the construction of the Dam is financed by the blood, tears, and sweat of ordinary Ethiopians.

The GERD is a people’s project and a humble attempt to realize the nation’s development needs he said adding that it’s the fingerprints of Ethiopia’s farmers, pastoralists, daily laborers, students, business owners, and the diaspora around the world who eke out a living in extremely difficult circumstances.

“We’re here because Egypt and Sudan have expressed their opposition to the GERD. Our two neighbors have large and small dams and canals they have constructed, with absolute disregard to the right of other riparian countries and rejecting Ethiopia’s request for consultation,” Sileshi stated.

Unlike Egypt and Sudan, Ethiopia has no considerable ground-water reserve, the minister stated, adding that “We also don’t have seawater to desalinate. Nearly 70 percent of my country’s water is in the Nile Basin. Even if we want to, even if we try, we cannot avoid utilizing the Nile River.”

According to the Minister, Ethiopia believes that an agreement is within reach, given the necessary political will and the commitment to negotiate in good faith. Understanding already reached on a number of the issues. The African Union is seized of the matter and is ably facilitating our negotiation.

The Security Council is faced with the question to determine whether or not Ethiopians have the right to utilize the Nile, Sileshe said.

“On behalf of all Ethiopians, I implore our friends in this Council to answer this question: ‘Do Ethiopians have the right to drink from the Nile?”

Despite the undue pressure, Ethiopia will continue to exercise maximum restraint and showcase cooperation the Minister indicated. Because, he added “we are forever linked by this majestic river. Whether we like it or not, we’ll continue to drink from the same river and must learn to live together as neighbors.”

The filling process is pure physics. Once the dam concrete reaches a certain height, the water either flows through the bottom outlets or overflows the concrete. This year the Dam will store water until it reaches the 13.5 billion cubic meters as indicated in the filling schedule.

“The Nile belongs to all the half billion people in the 11 riparian countries. The water is enough for all of us. Ethiopia generates 77 billion meter cube of water per year. It is only fair that we impound a small fraction of the annual inflow for its hydroelectric Dam.”

“We urge our Egyptian and Sudanese neighbors to understand that a resolution to the Nile issue won’t come from the Security Council; it can only come from good faith negotiations under the auspices of the AU with due care for the wellbeing and development of each other.”

Source: ENA

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