Mandate of UN peacekeeping mission extended

The UN Security Council has unanimously agreed to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) by another six months. The decision, adopted in Resolution 1398 on Friday, follows a recommendation by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan who stressed that the mandate should be extended to support implementation of a decision on border demarcation between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The ruling will be announced next month in The Hague by an independent Boundary Commission. The resolution approved prolonging the mandate until 15 September, and expressed "satisfaction and anticipation" that a final legal settlement of the border issue was about to be reached. It urged both countries to cooperate "fully and expeditiously" with UNMEE, a UN statement said. The Council also asked the Secretary-General to come up with recommendations on how UNMEE could play a role in the border demarcation process. Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war over a border dispute in May 1998. A peace agreement was finally signed in Algiers in December 2000 and the Boundary Commission will issue a "final and binding" verdict on where the border lies on 13 April.