UNSC session: Egypt, Sudan explain GERD threats amid Ethiopian intransigence, members call for resuming talks

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Amr Mohamed Kandil

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Thu, 08 Jul 2021 - 11:39 GMT

BY

Amr Mohamed Kandil

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 - 11:39 GMT

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during Thursday’s session of the United Nations Security Council – Egyptian foreign ministry

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during Thursday’s session of the United Nations Security Council – Egyptian foreign ministry

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Sudanese counterpart, Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi delivered speeches at Thursday’s session of the United Nations Security Council, explaining the threats the Ethiopian dam poses on their peoples and water rights in case no binding agreement is reached among their three countries.

The UNSC member states’ ambassadors also affirmed the need for the quick resumption of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam talks under the auspices of the African Union and some offered help in the issue.

UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Parfait Onanga-Anyanga said the GERD parties still couldn’t reach an agreement on filling and operation of the dam despite their negotiations and previous Security Council recommendations.

He said the Arab League called on Ethiopia not to take any unilateral measures to fill GERD without reaching a binding agreement but in response Addis Ababa refused the AL statement and called on sticking to the AU mediation.

DR Congo’s representative at the UNSC, for his part, said the GERD establishment poses threats for Sudan and Egypt, who rely heavily on the Nile River, which led to tensions during the past years.

The African Union took several initiatives to reach an agreement on the Renaissance Dam but there are still a number of points about filling and operation of the dam are still in dispute between the three countries, the Congolese representative said.

DR Congo’s representative said 90% of the technical problems on the GERD have been solved already and the three countries only have to agree on the rest of legal and technical aspects.

Also speaking during the session, UK ambassador to UNSC Dame Barbara Woodward said reaching an agreement on GERD requires concessions from the three countries.

Woodward said we note the frustration of Egypt and Sudan as a result of the failure to reach an agreement on the Renaissance Dam so far, despite the negotiations.

Tunisian ambassador to UNSC Tarek Ladeb said we hope that this UNSC session gives a decisive push to the negotiations path under the auspices of the African Union to help the three countries reach a binding agreement.

HE reiterated the need for a political will to reach an agreement on GERD.

Russian ambassador to UNSC Vasily Nebenzya said Russia is ready to provide remote monitoring means on GERD filling if the three countries ask for that.

US ambassador to UNSC Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the AU-led negotiations should resume with urgency with observers from US, EU, other partners.

The US ambassador said Ethiopia’s development needs can be reconciled with Egypt and Sudan’s need for an agreement.

The GERD negotiations should be resumed under the African Union. We believe the African union is the best venue to address GERD, Thomas-Greenfield said.

She urged the AU and concerned parties in the GERD issue to use the support of the observers; the AU, EU, US, UN and other parties to help them reach a positive outcome.

She also called on the three countries to refrain from any statements that may threaten negotiations and to reach a negotiated solution on GERD.

She also called on building on the 2015 Declaration of Principles signed by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to reach an agreement on the issue.

The Chinese ambassador to UN said We hope that GERD negotiations are resumed as soon as possible under the auspices of the African Union and China is ready to play a constructive role on the issue.

He added that all three counties of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are important in the region and friends to China.

French ambassador to UNSC Nicolas de Rivière said the GERD dispute should not be turned into international dispute, urging the three countries to refrain from any procedure that would obstruct the negotiations.

De Rivière said France will remain mobilized until negotiations are resumed and an agreement is reached rapidly.

‘Right to life’

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned against the negative impact of the GERD in case of a lack of an agreement with Sudan and Ethiopia, saying Egypt “will protect its right in life” in case its “existence is jeopardized”.

During his speech at the session, Shoukry said the Ethiopian dam represents an existential threat to Egypt.

He noted that the Egyptian scientific research confirms that GERD can cause significant damage to Egypt and despite Egyptian efforts to preserve water and reuse it, the harm will spread as a plague among the Egyptian people.

In the absence of a binding deal on GERD, this project may lead to a cumulative shortage of water in Egypt estimated at 110 billion cubic meters, Shoukry said.

This shortage will reduce the chance of obtaining clean drinking water, deprive millions of workers at the agricultural sector from the required water for their lands and destroy thousands of feddans of arable lands, the top Egyptian diplomat said.

The minister affirmed that Egypt will not accept or tolerate the negative impact of GERD.

In case the Egyptian water rights are harmed or its existence is jeopardized, Egypt's only option will be to protect its right in life, Shoukry said.

Shoukry said Ethiopia, only few days after the UNSC session on GERD last year, started without considering the laws and norms the unilateral filling of the dam and announced arrogantly that "the river became a lake... the Nile is ours".

He noted that the Ethiopian act to implement the second GERD filling unilaterally reflects not only Ethiopia's irresponsibility and indifference to the harm it will cause to Egypt and Sudan but also reflects its bad intentions and efforts to impose the fait accompli.

This unilateral Ethiopian approach uncovers its negligence and contempt of the international law rules and exposes its real political goals represented in controlling the River Nile and turning it into a political tool, Shoukry said.

Shoukry said Egypt resorted to the UNSC on GERD out of its faith in the value of international law and the multilateral action as a tool to prevent conflicts.

He reiterated that Egypt sought to reach an agreement on GERD that ensures the interests of the three countries although Ethiopia started constructing the dam without consulting Egypt and Sudan.

Any GERD agreement should be fair and legally-binding and should include procedures to avoid negative impact on the downstream countries especially during drought times, Shoukry said.

A GERD agreement should also ensure that the Egyptian water security is not jeopardized as a result of filling and operation of the dam.

A fair and balanced GERD agreement is not unachievable especially if we are aware that the Ethiopian intransigence is the reason behind the failure of the negotiations, Shoukry added.

Ethiopia behaved as if the Blue Nile that flows naturally to the downstream countries can be brought under the Ethiopian control, the minister added.

The Ethiopian intransigence is embodied in its continuous rejection of reaching an agreement and its insistence on formulating the deal in a way that ensures it has the upper hand to alter this deal whenever it wants, Shoukry said.

Egypt demands that Ethiopia sticks to the international commitments including the need to prevent any significant harm to the downstream countries' interests, the minister said.

Ethiopia eliminated the Egyptian efforts to conduct scientific studies on the economic, social effect of GERD and evaluate its environmental impact.

As a result of Ethiopia's obstruction of our endeavors, we do not have any neutral and joint scientific studies on the negative impact of GERD, Shoukry said.

Ethiopia managed to get the AU-sponsored GERD talks out of the track and sought frequently to direct the negotiations into reaching non-binding guidelines for the operation of the dam, Shoukry said.

He warned that the Ethiopian proposals in this regard aim to strip Egypt and Sudan from any effective protection against the negative impact of GERD and obtain an absolute right to fill and operate the dam without sticking to any procedures.

Shoukry said Egypt will exert all efforts to reach an agreement that fosters the brotherhood bond among our states and peoples in the Nile basin.

Indifference, denial

Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia's Minister of Water, appeared to accuse Egypt and Sudan of stalling the AU-sponsored talks on GERD and saying that the UNSC shall not be discussing the GERD issue due to its connection to development not security.

He claimed an agreement on GERD can be reached in the presence of a political will and good faith.

Bekele said Ethiopia regrets that Egypt and Sudan decided to introduce the GERD issue to the UNSC.

He claimed that Egypt and Sudan insist to maintain the "colonial inheritance" on the Nile, adding that Ethiopia does not need to convince Egypt and Sudan about the benefits they will reap from GERD.

Need for agreement

Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Sadiq called on the UN security council to urge resuming the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD] negotiations in order to reach a binding and legal agreement on the dam’s filling and operation.

She explained in her speech at the UN Security council session on the GERD that this agreement would protecting Sudanese citizens, protect Sudanese dams and protect Sudan’s strategic security.

She praised the African Union efforts on the GERD negotiations during the past period and affirmed continuing cooperating with it along with all Egypt and Ethiopia.

Al Mahdi also confirmed that Sudan is fully aware of Ethiopia’s rights in the Nile Waters, however they only demanded filling the dam according to an agreement and without damaging any of the downstream countries.

udan’s Foreign Minister also noted to Ethiopia’s unilateral movements including informing Khartoum that they will release nearly 2.5 cubic meter of water in only two weeks’ notice, which led the government to inform civilian to evacuate their homes only during three days.

Al Mahdi also said that Sudan and Ethiopia have always shared a especial and historical relation with each other of which should obligates Addis Ababa to stop harming Khartoum.

She demanded the UN Security Council to take action towards Ethiopia’s unilateral movement, saying that “if UNSC chooses to keep silence today would send the wrong message that the dam’s filling which harm’s Sudan and its people is accepted internationally, which will have a serious consequence.”

Following the UNSC Session, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Sadiqal al Mahdi held a press conference in which she noted that the Ethiopian Irrigation Minster speech at the UNSC was totally expected.

“They sent us a notifying and ‘nearly threatening’ message three days ago on the secound filling of the dam, knowing that the UNSC session will be held Today,” the Sudanese Foreign Minister said.

She added that she is very much optimistic regarding the UNSC and that it will address GERD issue with responsibility.

al Mahdi added that the Ethiopian discourse ‘falsifies the facts to divert attention from the GERD real threats’ and relies on creating a sedition between the Egyptian and Sudanese stances.

Minster Mariam al-Sadiq also said that the Egyptian and Sudanese stances are “clearly united regarding reaching a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the dam”.

And regarding the latest Ethiopian statement that attacked the Arab League mediation on the GERD, Mahdi said that Ethiopia tried to attack the Arab League ‘balanced’ stance, claiming that there are differences between Arab and Africans which is ‘unfortunate’ from the Ethiopians.

 

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