Coordinated Egyptian-Sudanese diplomacy brought the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to the Security Council for the second time in one year.
The dispute between the two upstream countries on the one hand and Ethiopia on the other has never been on the concept of the dam building, as Egypt and Sudan fully recognise the right of the Ethiopian people to development, to be achieved through the power generated from the GERD. Egypt and Sudan rather have serious concerns about the refusal of Ethiopia to commit to a legally binding agreement governing the filling and operation of the dam, particularly in light of the latter’s unilateral action to fill the dam’s reservoir.
Addis Ababa has been ignoring the fact that the dam will have a detrimental effect on the two downstream countries unless the filling and process operation is subject to coordination as is the case with transboundary rivers throughout the world.
Egypt has shown good intentions from the start of negotiations that took twists and turns during the past ten years until they reached a cul-de-sac. Egypt actually took its good intentions to the Security Council last week in a bid to urge the international community to play its part in maintaining international peace and security, which would be at jeopardy if Ethiopia harmed the water security of Egypt and Sudan.
In plain words, the two downstream countries were keen to connect the dots about the nature of their concerns and to expose Ethiopia’s lies about the dam. Moreover, they wished to exhaust all forms of soft and hard diplomacy before tension in this vital part of the African continent comes out of hand.
The statements delivered by the UNSC members on this issue have actually unveiled the stand of major world players regarding this issue. The general lukewarm mood at the UNSC meeting on Thursday indeed showed that interests of big forces overshadow expected reaction to crises that potentially pose threat to world peace and security.
Surprisingly, these statements mostly called upon the three parties to continue negotiations under the umbrella of the African Union (which had already failed to make a breakthrough).
The Security Council has listened to what the three riparian countries had to say about their cause and the final draft resolution is to be put to a vote within a few days. However, it was quite evident that the Security Council had no intention to intervene in the dispute. The draft resolution, originally submitted by Tunisia, calls upon Ethiopia to refrain from continuing to unilaterally fill the GERD reservoir and called for the resumption of the AU-led talks to reach an agreement within a deadline of six months.
No matter the outcome of the UNSC meeting, Egypt and Sudan will continue by every possible means to secure their water rights. It is up to the international community to realise that the dispute is not geo-political, but one which could risk intercontinental stability.
