ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA PEACE PROCESS STILL AT CRITIVAL STAGE, SAYS UN SECRETARY GENERAL

The Ethiopian-Eritrean peace process continues to be at a critical stage and lasting peace cannot be based on temporary arrangements, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a new report released in New York on 30 June.

In his latest progress report to the Security Council on the activities of UNMEE, Mr. Annan said: "in general the Parties cooperate well with UNMEE and respect the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). Their efforts in this connection are highly welcome and are essential to maintaining short-term stability in the region."

"However, lasting peace cannot be built on the basis of temporary arrangements," the Secretary-General continued. "In the absence of significant forward movement, precious momentum could be lost and prove difficult to regain, which in turn could impact on the longer-term goals of reconstruction and development."

Lasting peace requires the expeditious demarcation of the border and a relationship between the Parties that enables them to address problems through peaceful discourse, Mr. Annan stated.

"The absence of political contacts between the two countries since the negotiation of the Algiers Agreements has undoubtedly hindered the normalization of bilateral relations – a vital element of any peace process," he noted.

Mr. Annan stressed that while the international community has repeatedly affirmed its readiness to support the Parties on the road to peace "nothing will be more important than the commitment of the Parties themselves."

"Since the terrible suffering of war ended three years ago, the Governments and people of the two countries have invested heavily in peace. It is crucial they take the remaining steps required to benefit fully from the yields of that investment," he said, encouraging cooperation and interaction between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Prolonged drought and the lingering effects of conflict were among the myriad of "serious and complex" hurdles to long-term recovery in Ethiopia and Eritrea, according to the United Nations Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Ms. Carolyn McAskie. She made these remarks on her return to New York after a week-long assessment of ways to better address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the region.

Speaking at a briefing at UN Headquarters in New York on 26 June, Ms. McAskie said that a third drought in four years in Eritrea and Ethiopia had prevented long term recovery in communities. The effects of the drought in the two countries were further exacerbated by the fact that they had not yet recovered from the border war.

Ms. McAskie being briefed in the field during her visit to Ethiopia and Eritrea 

In Eritrea, Ms. McAskie said, over 2 million people - two-thirds of the total population - were affected and required humanitarian assistance. A fairly low response to requests for assistance at the beginning of the year had picked up significantly over the second quarter, and now about 40 per cent of the needs requested had been pledged. Still, the difficulty in getting the pledges to the region, unfortunately, meant that less than 19 per cent of the food aid was actually on the ground in Eritrea. Only about 60 per cent of the needy were getting food deliveries, and at lower rations, she added. Critical non-food deliveries, including supplementary feeding for children and assistance to water projects, were at about 12 per cent of what had been requested, she warned.

Ethiopia was also facing a complex and serious situation, Ms. McAskie said. The food aid response to its appeal, however, had been very gratifying. With a confirmed 90 per cent of the pledges met, she hoped that the 10 per cent gap would be closed as well. Non-food items were up to 80 per cent, and the response of the Government and the international community had been very good. One area of concern was southern Ethiopia, she added, where communities that were actually quite fertile were suffering from a "green famine" - where crops were growing, but were unusually late. In addition, entire areas were suffering from drops in income as a result of low coffee prices. During her visit, Ms. McAskie had come across large pockets of extremely vulnerable children in that region. Children had suffered year after year, but had been overwhelmed by this particular drought. Currently, most of the vulnerable groups had been identified and supplementary foods were being delivered, she said. The good news was that 95 per cent of the most vulnerable children could be saved, if put on therapeutic feeding or supplementary feeding.

However, she said them the Government, UN partners and donors must ensure that the next round of food needs assessments cover the whole country and all sectors. The big issue for Ethiopia was long-term and medium-term recovery. In that connection, she said the Government had just launched a comprehensive strategy called "Coalition on Food Security" to ensure better preparedness for future droughts.