UNSC Expected to Refrain from Ruling on Dam Dispute

ADDIS ABABA – President of the United Nations Security Council said that the dispute between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, regarding the Grand Renaissance Dam project (GERD), is “outside the scope” of the council’s work.

At the request of Khartoum and Cairo, Arab states called on the 15-member council to meet to discuss the issue of the dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile in their resolution passed in Mid July.

Ethiopia rejected the resolution and asked the body to defer the issue to the African Union.

The French representative to the UN Nicolas de Riviere, council president for July, said that UNSC would hold a session next Thursday with the disputing countries.

De Riviere, however, pointed out that there was little the Security Council could do other than bring the parties together to express their concerns and then encourage them to return to negotiations to reach a solution.

“I don’t think the council can do much more than that,” he told reporters.

Ethiopia is not keen on Security Council involvement and instead asked the body to defer the issue to the African Union.

The three countries are currently locked in disagreement about the controversial dam project, with a second filling anticipated to begin this Month.

Ethiopia is pinning its hopes of economic development and power generation on the dam, while the two downstream countries – Egypt and Sudan – said they seek a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.

Agencies