Extension of UNMEE mandate recommended

The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended to the Security Council that the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) be extended for six months, until 15 March 2002. Making his recommendation in a report submitted on 5 September, he said that despite the fact that the bitterness and tragedy of the conflict still obtained, the “people of the two countries clearly yearn to rebuild their lives in peace, and to renew the ties they had enjoyed before the war broke out”. The UN would continue to assist both parties in engaging in “confidence-building activities” to build trust, the report said. But it warned that some political developments in both countries had “given rise to anxieties that they could impact on the peace process”. The report said the progress achieved in the past year was a tribute to both governments’ commitment to peace, and to “the common vision and action of the member states involved”. Appreciation was expressed to the UN special representative and to all military and civilian personnel of UNMEE, as well as to the support UNMEE had received from the OAU and member states.