Japanese funds for demarcation process

Japan has pledged over US $1 million to help fund the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The Japanese embassy in Addis Ababa said in a statement on Friday that it had also contributed a further US $1 million to help with demining the border area. Tens of thousands of mines litter the border area and claim new lives each month. The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea is to help clear mines ahead of the physical demarcation of the boundary.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bitter two-year war, sparked by a border dispute, in May 1998. In December 2000, both sides signed the Algiers peace agreement. Under the terms of the accord, the sides agreed to set up a Boundary Commission, which was given the task of delimiting and demarcating the disputed border.

The Japanese statement said Tokyo hoped the two countries would abide by the ruling announced by the Boundary Commission on 13 April in The Hague.

"Japan strongly hopes that Ethiopia and Eritrea will implement the decision in good faith, further promote the peace process in concert with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and commit themselves to the improvement of their relations," it said.

It also said that Japan would continue to support both countries to help resolve the border conflict. Implementation of the decision is expected to take months. The region, which is one of the harshest environments in the world, has to be photographed and mapped in tiny detail. Field workers will also have to physically plot out where each border marker will lie.

The announcement by Japan comes days after the US also offered funds for the delimitation and demarcation process. The money will go to a UN Trust Fund set up to support delimitation and demarcation. So far, the fund totals around US $5.4 million. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea have also pledged US $250,000 each.