Press Release
Peace Agreement to be Signed in Algiers

Eritrea and Ethiopia will sign a comprehensive peace agreement in Algiers on December 12. President Isaias Afwerki yesterday received a formal letter from President Abdulaziz Bouteflika inviting him to Algiers for the formal signature of the agreement. The signing ceremony will be attended by senior officials from the US, the European Union, the United Nations and the OAU.

The peace agreement is the result of several meetings, including a legal/technical meeting in Washington, separate consultation meeting in Washington and proximity talks in Algiers at the level of Foreign Ministers of both countries; and shuttle diplomacy by the special envoys of President Bouteflika and President Clinton since last June when both sides signed an Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities.

The peace agreement essentially provides for the settlement of the conflict through the delimitation and demarcation of the border in accordance with the OAU principle on the sanctity of the inherited colonial boundaries and the provisions of the Framework Agreement. In this vein, Article 4.2 of the Agreement states: "The parties agree that a neutral Boundary Commission composed of five members shall be established with a mandate to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty boundary based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908) and applicable international law. The Commission shall not have the power to make decisions ex aequo et bono."

The Agreement also provides (Article 4.7) for the UN Cartographer to serve as "Secretary to the Commission." In accordance with Article 4.8 of the Agreement, both parties shall provide to the Secretary, "within 45 days after the effective date of this agreement" their claims and evidence relevant to the mandate of the Commission. The UN Cartographer shall in turn transmit "within 45 days of its receipt but not earlier than 15 days after the Commission is constituted" to the Commission and the parties "any materials relevant to the mandate of the Commission as well as his findings identifying those portions of the border as to which there appears to be no dispute between the parties. The Secretary shall also transmit to the Commission all the claims and evidence presented by the parties."

The other vital components of the peace agreement are Article 3 on the modalities of investigation of the origins of the conflict and Article 5 which establishes a Claims Commission whose mandate is "to decide through binding arbitration all claims for loss, damage or injury by one Government against the other, and by nationals (including both natural and juridical persons) of one party against the Government of the other party or entities owned or controlled by the other party that are (a) related to the conflict that was subject of the Framework Agreement, the Modalities for its Implementation and the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, and (b) result from violations of international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions, or other violations of international law."

The Agreement also provides (Article 2) for the release and repatriation of all prisoners of war and all other persons detained as a result of the armed conflict.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara, 4 December 2000