Embassy Media - Archives File - President Isaiss Afeworki Press Conference

Eritrea's position on the Eritrea Ethiopia border issue and its resolution was clear from the very beginning. Eritrea's request for final and binding arbitration was included in the Algeria Agreements. Eritrea accepted the final and binding delimitation decision when it was delivered in 2002 and the demarcation decision in 2007. The EEBC, in its Sixteenth Report indicated that Ethiopia repeatedly refused to enter into dialogue with Eritrea “in the manner laid down in the Demarcation Directions and in accordance with the timeline set by the Commission. It [Ethiopia that is] now insists on prior “dialogue” but has rejected the opportunity for such “dialogue”. Ethiopia has tried many times to have the EEBC decisions amended and revised. Both parties are obligated under the Algiers Agreements to accept the EEBC's decisions as final and binding. The international community has refused to take punitive actions against Ethiopia for the last 16 yrs as it occupied sovereign Eritrean territories, including Badme. It should be recalled that the African Union, European Union, United States and United Nations all guarantees and witnessed the Algiers Agreements signed in 2000. The Eritrea Ethiopia border issue has been legally resolved and the border has been delimited and demarcated. The issue today is the Ethiopian occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories. The UN must restore Eritrea's sovereignty. Eritrea Embassy Media