Egypt hands draft resolution on GERD to Security Council

CAIRO – 1 July 2020: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Wednesday said Egypt has introduced a draft resolution on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to the United Nations Security Council, a day after he voiced Egypt's concern about the dam's safety on lives of more than 150 million Egyptian and Sudanese citizens.

In a video conference with Prime Minster Mustafa Madboulil, Shoukry said that the UNSC’s decision to hold a session on GERD at Egypt’s request is considered an important development in this issue.

In his speech at the Security Council meeting on the dam, Shoukry denounced absence of guarantees on the safety of the Ethiopian dam on the downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan].

“While we recognize the importance of this project to the developmental objectives of the Ethiopian people, a goal that we share and support, it is essential to realize that this mega-dam, which is Africa’s largest hydropower facility, potentially threatens the welfare, wellbeing, and existence of millions of Egyptian and Sudanese citizens,” Shoukry said.

“Therefore, the unilateral filling and operation of this dam, without an agreement that includes the necessary precautions to protect downstream communities and to prevent the infliction of significant harm on their riparian rights, would heighten tensions and could provoke crises and conflicts that further destabilize an already troubled region.”

“As a responsible stakeholder, Egypt elected to bring this matter to the attention of the Security Council to forestall further escalation and to ensure that unilateral actions do not undermine efforts to reach an agreement on the GERD or prejudice the riparian rights and interests of downstream states, or, more alarmingly, to endanger the lives of almost 150 million Egyptian and Sudanese citizens, thereby generating greater tension in an unstable region.”