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NAMUNC III

“Maintaining Democracy in Ethiopia and Eritrea”
SPECPOL Background Guide

Eritrea and Ethiopia have been in conflict through guerilla warfare since 1962 until Eritrea became a separate state in 1991.  This was with the support of a new Ethiopian Government at the end of a military junta.  The President of Eritrea ISAIAS Afworki, and Ethiopian Prime Minister MELES Zenawi had worked together in the guerilla movement to overthrow the old military junta and therefore it had been hoped that the two would maintain a good working relationship to build up their war-torn countries into stable democracies.  However, in 1998, a border war started in the border town of Badme.  This war continued until a peace treaty was signed in December 2000 that called for the creation of an independent border commission that would define the borders and until it was decided, United Nations Peacekeeping troop would patrol a 25 km wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ).  At the time, both countries agreed that the border commissions ruling would be final and binding, but after the commission made the rulings, Ethiopia said that the committee had ignored the elements of "human geography" and they would not allow the borders to be marked as the Ethiopian Eritrean Border Commission (EEBC) ruled.  Ethiopia has proposed a Five Point plan which they say is the best plan for peace in the region.  This plan accepts the EEBC’s ruling "in principle" but insists on further revision and discussion.  Eritrea however, will not enter into negotiations and demands that Ethiopia accept the EEBC’s ruling as final. 

The mandate of the peacekeeping troops in the TSZ is about to come to the Security Council for review.  The job of the peacekeeping troops is becoming much more difficult because of the recent limitations Eritrea has placed on the capabilities.  Either country can place restrictions on peacekeeping troops in their territory because the UN troops must respect the national sovereignty of the country they are in.  Some of the limitations placed on the troops so far are that helicopters may not be used and nighttime activity is restricted.  Many of the troops complain that it is becoming impossible to properly do their jobs.  The UN Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was extended on April 13^th to last until May 15^th pending further review.  The result would be dependent on the progress that Ethiopia and Eritrea have made.  One of your tasks will be to give this committees recommendation on what to do with the troops to the Security Council to review when the issue comes up at their next meeting. 

Eritrea’s constitution was supposed to go into effect at the same time as its first election under that document in 2000, but President Isaias suspended those elections because the country was at war and so Eritrea has not had an election for 15 years and Isaias rules a temporary government which has only representatives from a single party.  And although elections have been held in Ethiopia in 2005, the Prime Minister has remained the same, as has the controlling party.  In fact, some international observers were concerned that the ballot boxes had been stiffed to give the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party a larger percentage of the vote.  There were protests which became violent and people were killed and arrested as a result.  These fledgling democracies are both at risk and if they lapse back into war it will destabilize a region that is already regularly assaulted by famine and refugees from Somalia and the Darfur region of Sudan.  With every democracy, the biggest challenge is not starting it but the first transition of power to another bloc because of elections. Neither Eritrea nor Ethiopia has passed this hurdle.  As a community, what can we do to maintain the democratic process in these two countries, and what do we want to do.  Not all countries will want to put the resources into Eritrea and Ethiopia and it may be that some countries do not care what type of government that they end up having as long as it’s stable. 

Sources

Norfolk Academy   |   IRC   |   NAMUNC   |   Comments: David Rezelman