Egypt Undermining Regional Multilateral Organizations, Says ISS Senior Researcher

Addis Ababa June 25/2020 (ENA) Egypt has undermined regional multilateral organizations by taking the dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to the UN Security Council, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Senior Researcher said. 

In an Interview with ENA, Institute for Security Studies Senior Researcher and Training Coordinator, Meressa Kasu said the Nile River is in Africa and shared by 11 countries which  are members of the African Union.

The union has the practice and the principle of providing African solutions for African problems, he added.

“So, when Egypt takes this issue to the UN Security Council it is undermining the regional multilateral organizations. Egypt obviously has ignored the African Union as it does not consider it an important organization that solves African problems,” the senior researcher elaborated.

The AU is a continental body that advances the interests of member countries and takes diplomatic actions to resolve disputes on the continent, he stressed.

Meressa further noted that the Declaration of Principle (DoP) is the only document that the three countries have agreed upon, and should abide by the agreement.

But “I think Egypt is now working against DoP signed between the three countries in 2015 in Khartoum. It's clearly stated in the DoP that the three countries will settle disputes, arising out of the interpretation or implementation of this agreement, amicably through consultation or negotiation in accordance with the principle of good faith. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute through consultation or negotiation, they may jointly request for conciliation, mediation or refer the matter for the consideration of the Heads of State/Head of Government.”

Third party intervention should depend on the consensus of the three countries, the senior researched argued.

According to him, Egypt wants to internationalize and make GERD a global issue as well as hopes to maintain its status quo forever on the Nile River.

Furthermore, he condemned the Arab League for asking Ethiopia to delay the filling of its dam  until a comprehensive deal is reached with Egypt and Sudan.

The two reasonable countries, Djibouti and Somalia, have rejected the resolution.

Ethiopia had rejected the last resolution passed by the Arab League Council in March as it gives blind support to a member state without taking into consideration key facts at the center of the GERD talks.

The “Arab league statement cannot hamper the plans of Ethiopia to fill the dam this rainy season. As long as Ethiopia fulfills its responsibility not to cause significant harm on the downstream countries, no one can stop it from filling of the dam,” Meressa underscored.

He further pointed out that the approach Ethiopia has been  following is genuine and there is no need to mislead other countries and the international community because the facts are there to see.