NEWS RELEASES

January 30, 2004 (6:15 p.m. EST) No. 15

GRAHAM WELCOMES UN APPOINTMENT ON ERITREA-ETHIOPIA BORDER DISPUTE

Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham today welcomed United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's appointment of Lloyd Axworthy as his Special Envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea. Mr. Axworthy was Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2000.

"I strongly support Secretary-General Annan's efforts to promote dialogue and a sustainable peace between these key regional states," said Minister Graham. "Mr. Axworthy is eminently qualified to work with Eritrea and Ethiopia to consolidate peace under the provisions of the Algiers Agreement."

Tension in the region has increased in the last year because of the implementation of the ruling of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, which was mandated to determine the location of the border between the two countries. The Commission was established under the Algiers Agreement, signed in 2000, that concluded a bitter war between the two countries. The body is composed of an equal number of representatives of each country as well as a UN designated expert. Both countries committed in advance that the Commission's ruling would be final and binding.

Minister Graham reiterated Canada's support for the position enunciated by the United Nations Security Council last year that any discussions regarding the border must take place in the context of the implementation of the ruling of the Boundary Commission.

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