NEWS RELEASES

May 26, 2000 (5:45 p.m. EDT) No. 123

AXWORTHY AND MINNA WELCOME ERITREA'S ACCEPTANCE OF

OAU PEACE PROPOSALS AND ANNOUNCE AID FOR DISPLACED PERSONS

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today welcomed Eritrea's acceptance of the latest peace proposals put forward by the Special Envoy of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Ahmed Ouyahia, aimed at ending the hostilities with neighbouring Ethiopia.

"Eritrea's initial response to the OAU's latest peace proposals is encouraging, but only a first step," said Mr. Axworthy. "I strongly urge the Government of Ethiopia to halt its advance and to return to the bargaining table. We fully support the work being done by the Organization and urge both parties to follow its recommendations completely and immediately. Both parties must also fully respect and honour the tenets of international law pertaining to the protection of civilians."

The Minister added that he strongly believes that both the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments share responsibility for having failed to work effectively over the past two years to find a peaceful resolution to their differences and that their peoples are now paying a terrible cost for their failure.

Minister for International Co-operation, Maria Minna, today announced a contribution

of $500 000 to the International Committee for the Red Cross Emergency Program in Eritrea to provide tents, plastic sheeting, blankets, and emergency medical supplies to approximately 100 000 internally displaced people.

This announcement is in addition to close to $2 million which will be used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help refugees along the Eritrean/Sudan border.

"Thousands of Eritreans have fled their homes to avoid the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea," said Minister Minna. "Today's assistance will help bring some stability to their lives and ensure that their basic needs are met."

Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) David Kilgour, who recently met with a member of the Eritrean Cabinet in Yemen, will be visiting Addis Ababa on May 27 in order to urge Ethiopia to accept the OAU recommendations and to intensify the search for peace.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), of which Canada is currently a member, released a statement on May 25 strongly supporting the OAU's communiqué of May 24 which outlines steps to end the conflict. In the document, the Council welcomed Eritrea's announcement of its intention to redeploy its troops to positions controlled prior to May 6, 1998, and looked forward to a positive response by Ethiopia to the requests contained in the communiqué to de-escalate the conflict. In addition to support for the OAU, the UNSC also passed resolution 1298 on May 17, which effectively imposed a comprehensive arms embargo against Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The war, which has claimed thousands of lives in fighting, is exacerbating an already devastating food crisis caused by three years of drought in the Horn of Africa region. In addition to the significant humanitarian assistance it is already providing to Ethiopia, Canada will also provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people as well as emergency food assistance to Eritrea.

Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2000 budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

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Robin Walsh

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(818) 953-3160

Media Relations Office

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(819) 953-6534

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Internet: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca (electronic version of the document)

This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca.