Official Statement of the Current OAU Chairmanship

  1. - At the invitation of his Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of  the Republic and current OAU chairman, indirect talks have been organized in  Algiers from April 29th to May 5th, 2000, with the participation of the  Ethiopian and Eritrean delegations led by their respective Foreign  Ministers, Seyoum Mesfin and Haile Woldensae.
  2. - These indirect talks have been chaired by Ahmed Ouyahia, personal  representative of the current OAU chairman, alongside Mr. Djinit, OAU deputy  secretary general. Furthermore, this peace effort received the support of  the United States on the one hand, which delegation included Mrs. Susan  Rice, under secretary of state to African affairs, and Anthony Lake, former  national adviser in security affairs, and of the European Union on the other  hand, through Mr. Melani, ambassador and assistant to Mr. Serri, special  representative, who thereafter joined the works personally.
  3. - The purpose of Algiers indirect talks was to allow both sides to reach an  agreement on "the consolidated technical arrangements" intended to lead to  the implementation of the plan for the peaceful settlement of the conflict  opposing Ethiopia to Eritrea, which is included in the outline agreement and  the terms accepted by the two sides and endorsed by the OAU summit held in  Algiers last July.
  4. - In this respect, it is necessary to initially point out the various  stages reached by OAU's peace efforts since the holding of its 35th summit  conference in Algiers last July.
    1. - During his first stay in the region from July 22nd to 25th, 1999, the  personal representative of the current OAU chairman requested from both  sides to proceed to the signing of the outline agreement and the terms, and  then move to their implementation.
    2. However, Ethiopia had then indicated that this signing should intervene  after the finalisation of the last details of implementation, also  requesting the OAU to work out these details and to subject them to the two  sides as nonnegotiable.

      For its part, Eritrea, which wished to proceed immediately to the signing of  the outline agreement and the terms, did not object to the preliminary  submission of the last details by the OAU, also accepting that this document  be regarded as nonnegotiable.

    3. - Early last August, the OAU, with the assistance of the United Nations  (which would have to support the implementation of the peace plan), prepared  a document called "technical arrangements" containing the required details.  These technical arrangements were presented to the two sides by the personal  representative of the current OAU chairman between August 5th and 10th,  1999.
    4. Eritrea then officially announced its acceptance of the technical  arrangements. For its part, Ethiopia formulated objections on some  provisions, which it considered as different from the content of the outline  agreement and the terms, also requesting clarifications on these points.

    5. - The clarifications requested by Ethiopia were worked out by the OAU again  with the assistance of the United Nations. During a new stay in the area at  the end of August, the personal representative of the current OAU chairman  gave these clarification to Ethiopia and also communicated them to Eritrea.  Ethiopia, which considered that this answer was not fully satisfactory, then  requested a time for consideration.
    6. - A new visit carried out in the area by the personal representative of the  current OAU chairman at the end of last October did not enable moving the  situation forward. However, Ethiopia was requested to expose in writing its  views on the technical arrangements in order to allow their examination by  the OAU. Eritrea was informed of this situation.
    7. - At the end of last November, Ethiopia addressed to the OAU a memorandum  containing its views on the technical arrangements. Talks were then held by  the OAU with Ethiopia to identify the vision of the technical arrangements  acceptable for this country, a vision that was consigned in a preparatory  document called "non paper".
    8. - Between February 24th and March 4th, 2000, the personal representative of  the current OAU chairman stayed again in the region.
    9. On that occasion, he noted that the content of the "non paper" reflected  indeed the views acceptable for Ethiopia, and indicated to this side that he  was now going to solicit Eritrea so that it agrees to take part in new talks  intended to lead to "consolidated technical arrangements" acceptable for  both sides.

      This proposal was presented to Eritrea, which, after long talks, gave its  agreement in principle to take part in proximity talks. Ethiopia in turn  gave its agreement in principle to take part in these proximity talks.

      This new progress achieved by the peace process was announced in the  official statement made public by the OAU last March 5th, a statement which  also revealed the existence of points of convergence between the two sides  on the content of the technical arrangements, and which announced that the  proximity talks were intended to settle the points of divergences.

       

    The points of convergence between the two sides as noted by the OAU include  especially:

    1. - The confirmation of the acceptance of the outline agreement and the  terms, and that the consolidated technical arrangements will have to reflect  the contents of the two above mentioned documents endorsed by Algiers OAU  summit
    2. - The fact that the OAU is alone responsible for any interpretation of the  outline agreement and the terms.
    3. - The commitments that the two sides will have to assume when they reach  the suspension of the hostilities (suspension of any terrestrial, air or  maritime attack, suspension of all other action likely to block the  implementation of the peace plan, guarantees of freedom of movement and of  protection for the international military observers, compliance to the rules  of international human rights).
    4. - The two sides' agreement to entrust a neutral commission the  responsibility to check the territories where each side will have to  withdraw its forces from and where each side will proceed to the return of  its civil administration within the framework of the restoration of the  situation prevailing as of May 6th, 1998, all this in compliance with the  terms (other aspects of this procedure still have to be the subject of an  agreement).
    5. - The necessary deadlines, once the implementation engaged, for the  redeployment of the troops and the return of the civil administration as  planned by the terms.
    6. - The fact that neither the process of verification of the territories,  neither the redeployment of the troops, nor finally the return of the civil  administration, will prejudge the final status of the concerned territories,  which will be defined within the framework of the delimitation of the  international border between the two countries.
    7. - The procedures that will guide the delimitation and the demarcation of  the international border by the United Nations cartographic unit (which will  work in neutrality and transparency), as well as the procedures of  setting-up of the arbitration mechanisms that would have to settle the  possible dispute related to this operation. The same goes for each side's  acknowledged right to subject to the UN cartographic unit any element in its  possession, including documents and oral exposes, and the right to comment  on the results reached by this institution.

  5. - As it comes out from these reminders, the indirect talks held in Algiers  aimed to help the two sides to lead to success the consolidated technical  arrangements on the basis of positions acceptable for both, which are  consigned for Eritrea in the technical arrangements and for Ethiopia in the  non paper.
  6. - The indirect talks were also due to start with significant points of  convergence between the two sides. Finally, these talks, as in any peaceful  solution requiring the agreement of the two sides, were to enable the latter  to agree on the consolidated technical arrangements, or to present the OAU  with the opportunity to assist them in bringing out acceptable compromises  in compliance with the outline agreement and the terms, which remain the  fundamental elements of the peace plan.
  7. - Unfortunately, these points could not be dealt with owing to the fact  that Eritrea requested as a preliminary the signing of the outline  agreement, the terms and the cease-fire, whereas Ethiopia maintained its  position of July 1999, namely that the aforementioned signing should only  intervene after the finalisation of the technical arrangements. All efforts  led by the personal representative of the current OAU chairman, with the  support of the representatives of the United States and the European Union,  could not succeed to soften neither Eritrea's position nor Ethiopia's. As  such, the indirect talks have been deferred after a week of efforts.
  8. - During the final meetings held on May 5 with each of the two delegations,  the personal representative of the current OAU chairman informed them of  OAU's deep concern as to this new blocking.
  9. He then asked both the Ethiopian and Eritrean delegations to transmit to  their respective higher national authorities the pressing call made by the  current OAU chairman on behalf of Africa that they display more restraint,  reassess their position at the light of the current blocking, and finally,  accept to dispatch later on their delegation for indirect talks intended to  approach the heart of the remaining problems, namely to finalise the  consolidated technical arrangements in conformity with the outline agreement  and the terms, and thus to allow the implementation of the peace plan  endorsed by the OAU and the United Nations for the peaceful and final  settlement of the fratricidal conflict opposing the two countries.

    The personal representative of the current OAU chairman also recalled to the  two sides that the OAU, the United Nations, and the partners who support  this process of peace, committed themselves to follow closely and support an  honest implementation of the plan for the settlement of the conflict  opposing Ethiopia to Eritrea.

    This very call and commitment were then reiterated to each of the two sides  by the United States delegation and the one representing the European Union,  which were present in Algiers as part of their support to OAU's efforts.

  10. On behalf of his Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the  Democratic and People's Republic of Algeria and current OAU chairman, his  personal representative expressed his sincere thanks to the representatives  of the United States of America and the European Union for all the support  which they continue to bring to OAU's peace efforts for the settlement of  the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Algiera, 5 May 2000