Sides urged to implement border ruling

Ahead of Saturday's crucial border ruling, the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) have called on Ethiopia and Eritrea to implement the decisions which will be announced by an independent Boundary Commission.

In a joint statement on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his OAU counterpart Amara Essy appealed for peace "in the event that delimitation results in the transfer of territory".

The Boundary Commission, which sits in The Hague, was established by the Algiers peace accord of December 2000 signed by both countries, after a bloody two-year border war which broke out in May 1998.

"We salute the parties' continued and consistent reaffirmation that they will accept the decision of the Boundary Commission as 'final and binding' as called for in the Algiers Peace Agreement," the statement said. "We take this as a clear manifestation of their desire for a final settlement and yearning for lasting peace."

But, the statement noted, the decision would mark only the first step on the road to resolving the conflict. After the delimitation process, the process of physically demarcating the border will take place.

"In the event that delimitation results in the transfer of territory, it is our fervent hope that any movement of population and civil administration will be carried out in an orderly and peaceful fashion, assisted by and in cooperation with UNMEE [UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea]," the two leaders stressed.

They also emphasised the need for international assistance to help Ethiopia and Eritrea overcome their humanitarian difficulties. "We appeal to donor countries to extend maximum political and financial support to the two countries in their efforts towards socio-economic reconstruction and development," they said.

"The successful conclusion of the peace process on the basis of a legal settlement of the conflict will set an example for the rest of the African continent, and indeed the whole international community," they concluded.