Nation Does not Require Permission to Maintain Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity: Scholars

Addis Ababa, October 7/2021(ENA)  Ethiopia should not ask anyone's permission to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, scholars said.

The holding of repeated discussions about Ethiopia within such a short period of time by the UN Security Council is lamentable, they added.

The council discussed last night the situation in northern Ethiopia and the expulsion of the UN staff from Ethiopia.

Scholars approached by ENA stressed that the council's main responsibility is to protect global peace.

However, it is unfortunate that the council repeatedly discussed the issues, the scholars said, adding that the move undermines the objective of the establishment of the United Nations and the organization.

Addis Ababa University Political Science and International Relations lecturer, Professor Kassahun Berhanu said Ethiopia does not require anyone's permission to maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Ethiopia can solve its own problems in the north of the country on its own. And the United Nations people knows this very well,” he added.

The professor noted that Ethiopia has the right to expel individuals who engage in activities that jeopardize a country’s sovereignty under the cover of the United Nations.

Being a sovereign state Ethiopia has the right to monitor and take measure against activities that threaten its security and peace.

"Let alone with solid evidence, it is possible to expel them on suspicion from the country," Professor Kassahun elaborated.

It would be better for the UN to discuss the issue with Ethiopia rather than arguing that Ethiopia has no rights to expel UN workers.

It should be noted that the Government of Ethiopia did not to stop the organizations from working in the country but only expelled employees involved in inappropriate activities, he stressed.

Professor Berhanu urged the government to continue monitoring activities that transgress the sovereignty of the country and take measures.

Civil Service University Law lecturer, Tesfaye Abate said the council has the right to discuss issues that it believes would pose threat to international security.

However, he underlined that it is not appropriate to make Ethiopia an agenda by meddling its internal affairs instead of helping it to solve the problem on its own.

That is why members of the Security Council do not always reach agreement on the Ethiopia agenda, he elaborated.

According to him, countries could take action if individuals violate the limits of their responsibilities under international conventions.

“A country has the right not only to expel them, but also has right to prevent them from entering the country in the first place.”

The law lectures underscored that the measure taken by the Ethiopian government should not therefore be taken to mean that it does not want assistance or hampers humanitarian aid.

It is to be recalled that the expelled UN workers had links with the terrorist TPLF group and issued misinformation.