Egypt Raises GERD Issue to UNSC

Egypt asked on Friday the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene in the dispute of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue to oblige Ethiopia to negotiate in good faith with Egypt and Sudan to reach a just and balanced agreement.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move aims to prevent Ethiopia from taking any unilateral action, which could negatively affect the negotiations.

Egypt's letter to UNSC is based on the Article no.35 of the UN Charter which stipulates that the parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. It also says that the Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.

[caption id="attachment_128239" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Ethiopia's GERD[/caption]

"The Egyptian decision came given that the negotiations over a decade faltered because of the nonpositive Ethiopian stances," the Foreign Ministry pointed out, citing the tripartite negotiations, held earlier in Washington and under the auspices of the United States and the participation of the World Bank.

Cairo attributed the failure of all efforts, the latest of which was Sudan-mediated talks, to the nonavailability of the political will in Addis Ababa.

"Egypt renewed its keenness on reaching an agreement maintaining the interests of the three countries, a matter which kept Cairo to engage in all talks with good faith and sincere political will due to the importance of the water to the Egyptian people," the ministry concluded.