A Week in the Horn 12.7.2019
The African Union AfCFTA Summit and Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Niamey
Sudan mediation and the Joint Ethiopia-African Union proposal
First anniversary of Eritrea and Ethiopia’s Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship
The 25th Ethiopia-Djibouti Joint Border Administrators’ meeting in Djibouti
African Regional High-level Conference on Counter-terrorism held in Nairobi
Ethiopia at the Abu Dhabi High-level meeting on Climate Action
News in Brief
Africa and the African Union
The African Union held the AfCFTA Summit and the first Mid-Year Coordination session in a series of meetings in Niamey, Niger between July 4 and July 8. These included the Session of the Executive Council, meetings of Regional Economic Communities and the Summit to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). (See article)
A high-level preparatory meeting for the forthcoming Climate Action Summit was held in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the month (June 30-July 1). The Climate Action Summit will be held in New York in September. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all leaders to bring concrete, realistic plans to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions by 2020, to combat global warming. Ethiopia’s delegation in Abu Dhabi, a major milestone for the preparatory process, was led by Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Dr. Sileshi Bekele. (See article)
The African Regional High-level Conference on Counter-terrorism and the Prevention of Violent Extremism was held on Wednesday and Thursday this week (July 11-12) in Nairobi, Kenya, co-organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and the Government of Kenya. It brought together participants from different countries and international governmental and non-governmental organizations working on countering violent extremism and terrorism. President Kenyatta of Kenya, African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, attended the opening session. (See article)
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, told the Security Council on Wednesday (July 10) that cooperation between the UN Secretariat, the Security Council; and the Troop-contributing countries was crucial to enhance peace-keeping operations. The Security Council was discussing “Strengthening Triangular Cooperation” and the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping Initiative, a strategy designed to make UN missions stronger and safer, “refocusing peacekeeping with more realistic expectations, and mobilizing greater support for political solutions.”
Ethiopia
President Sahle-Work Zewde headed an Ethiopian delegation which included Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew to the African Union Extraordinary Summit in Niamey. During her visit, she also met with various leaders and held a number of bilateral meetings. (See article)
President Sahle-Work Zewde met with the visiting Foreign Minister of South Korea, Kang Kyung-wha, this week. They held talks on Issues of mutual interest and ways forward to further expand the cordial relations of Ethiopia and South Korea. Ms. Kyung-wha underscored the need to focus on enhancing economic engagement to take the relationship to a greater height. She applauded the transformational changes in Ethiopia and commended the role of Ethiopia in the region as the main actor for peace initiatives. She also stressed Ethiopia has a special place in the heart of South Koreans as Ethiopians fought for their sovereignty during the Korean war in 1953.
Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed met with the Foreign Minister of Finland, Pekka Haavisto on Wednesday (July 10). The two sides discussed bilateral issues and the role of Ethiopia in bringing regional peace and stability, particularly in Sudan.
Prime Minister Dr. Abiy met with the Foreign Minister of South Korea, Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday (July 10). The two parties discussed the long standing relations between Ethiopia and South Korea, modernizing the taxation and customs system, as well as provision of support for education.
Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew met with resident EU Ambassadors in Ethiopia this week on Thursday (July 11), and held discussions on current affairs and the ongoing reform in Ethiopia. EU Ambassadors have expressed their support and underlined their commitment for Ethiopia’s reform efforts.
Foreign Minister Gedu met with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Kang Kyung-Wha on Wednesday (July 10) and discussed a range of bilateral issues including revamping a robust business and investment cooperation between the two historical allies.
The first anniversary of the signing of the historic peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia was on Monday this week (July 9), marking the end of twenty years of diplomatic disconnect and the state of “no peace no war`” which had persisted since 2000. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki said they were choosing love and forgiveness over hatred and violence, signing a five-pillared peace agreement in Asmara; a week later President Isaias was making an equally welcome visit to Addis Ababa. (See article)
Parliament approved the $13.4 billion budget for 2019/20 presented by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy for the new fiscal year on Monday this week (July 8). It provided about $3.79 billion to fund recurrent expenditure, $4.53 billion for capital expenditure and $4.876 billion in subsidies to the regional states. Another $207.95 million will be used to implement projects for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The budget shows an 11.7% increase over the previous year. The government plans increased investments in agriculture, energy and mining as well as attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Prime Minister said the government would be prioritizing the productive sector to stimulate exports, as well as labour-intensive agricultural, industry, mining and mega projects to create more youth employment.
Ambassador Fisseha Shawel, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the UK and Ms. Billene Seyoum, Press Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office attended the Global Conference for Media Freedom this week in London. During the conference, UK’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, noted the “dramatic and courageous reforms” that have taken place in Ethiopia to ensure media freedom.
Djibouti
The three-day 25th Ethio-Djibouti Joint Border Administrators’ meeting was held in Ali-Sabieh, Djibouti, at the beginning of the month. The Ethiopian delegation was led by the Director-General for Neighboring Countries and IGAD at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yibeltal Aeimro, and the Djibouti delegation by Siraj Omar Abdulkadir, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior. The sessions were also attended by local officials and representatives of IGAD and the International Office for Migration.
Eritrea
Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, on a visit to Italy last week, met Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero for talks on bilateral relations. A statement said they discussed the Horn of Africa and “recent positive developments” and Mr. Salah had shown strong interest in Italian investments in Eritrea, especially in port infrastructure within the framework of an Italian initiative over rapid expansion of maritime links connecting the Mediterranean and East Asia via the Indian Ocean.
Presidential Adviser Yemane Ghebreab visited Khartoum at the weekend and held talks with Chairman of Transitional Military Council, Lt. General Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan as well as the Deputy Chairman of the TMC. Their discussions centered on concrete steps to jump-start comprehensive cooperation between Sudan and Eritrea.
Kenya
President Kenyatta opened the African Regional High-Level Conference on Counter-terrorism and the Prevention of Violent Extremism conducive to Terrorism in Nairobi on Wednesday this week (See article)
President Kenyatta held talks with UN Secretary-General Guterres this week focusing on regional issues, climate change and the strong partnership between Kenya and the United Nations.
Kenya’s Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, said last week that it expected the upgrading of some 250 kms. of road linking Kenya to South Sudan to be completed in 2020. The project, which is being carried out by Chinese contractors, is about 30% complete.
Somalia
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ahmed Isse Awad, met the UK’s State Minister of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ms. Harriett Baldwin. They discussed bilateral relations and means of developing strategic cooperation and enhancing efforts aimed at establishing security and stability in Somalia as well as the regional political, security and economic situation. The Minister also met with other FCO officials including the UK’s Special Envoy for the Red Sea – Horn of Africa, Julian Riley.
AMISOM commanders ended a three-day workshop in Mogadishu on Monday this week (July 8) discussing further enhanced coordination with Somali security forces and evaluating the progress made in implementing AMISOM’s concept of operations (CONOPs). The workshop also considered the operational readiness of the Somali security forces, which is crucial to the successful implementation of the Somali transition plan. Lt. General Tigabu Yilma, AMISOM Force Commander, said success in operations was due to enhanced coordination between AMISOM, Somali Security Forces and international partners. Ambassador Madeira, head of AMISOM, said “We are implementing the Somali Transition Plan and the AMISOM exit strategy. The progress made so far indicates that we are on track in executing our mandate.”
South Sudan
Tuesday (July 9) marked the eighth anniversary of South Sudan’s independence from Sudan. In a televised address to the nation, President Salva Kiir urged all parties to the revitalized peace agreement to maintain the spirit of peace ahead of the formation of the unity government, and said: “I have no doubt that with the full implementation of peace agreement, security will return to South Sudan.” He urged hold-out groups to join the peace process, and said: “We hope that we get it right this time and avoid any mistake that could potentially return us to another conflict.” Full implementation of the peace agreement would result in a thriving economy and better services delivery, he said.
The chairman of the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMVM), Abiche Ageno, said last week that troops already cantoned and those supposed to be cantoned were facing logistical challenges over provision of food, water, medicine and shelter. At CTSAMVM’s 12th technical committee meeting, he urged the parties and the National Pre-Transitional Committee to address those issues as a matter of urgency. Emphasizing the need to maintain the momentum towards peace, he said that without cantonment, the peace agreement could not be implemented. In February this year, the peace partners agreed to establish 25 cantonment sites for the opposition groups in line with the implementation of the security arrangements.
Sudan.
The agreement, mediated by Ethiopia and the African Union, between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on Friday last week (July 5) has been widely welcomed. Ethiopia, the AU and the UN as well as a host of other countries, have all offered their congratulations. (See article)
In a speech on Saturday (July 6), the head of the TMC, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, announced his commitment to implement the agreement with the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC). He said the TMC would cooperate with their partners of the FFC to build the nation and achieve the aspirations of its people.
Finland’s Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, a former EU Special Representative to Sudan, visited Sudan after meetings in Addis Ababa this week. The EU Foreign Affairs Council said earlier the EU looked forward to supporting Sudan “in tackling social, economic and political challenges and implementing the necessary reforms, and will provide assistance accordingly.”
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The African Union AfCFTA Summit and Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Niamey
The African Union held the AfCFTA Summit and the first Mid-Year Coordination session in a series of meetings in Niamey, Niger between July 4 and July 8. These included the Session of the Executive Council, meetings of Regional Economic Communities and the Summit to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The first of the meetings was the 35th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of Foreign Ministers, held on Thursday and Friday last week (July 4-5) when the Executive Council adopted the 2020 budget of the African Union. The Council also considered the organizational structure of the African Union Commission and referred it for further discussion to be adopted during the February 2020 summit. Various sub-committees of the Executive Council held meetings in Niamey and reported back to the Plenary Session. One of these was the Candidatures’ Ministerial Committee which endorses African Candidates for international posts. One such endorsement was for Ethiopia’s candidature for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The Executive Council accepted the endorsement of Ethiopia and Mali as African candidates for the election to be held in November. The Executive Council accepted Ethiopia as a permanent member of the Sub-committee on Headquarters and Host Agreements. The Head of the Ethiopian delegation to the Executive Council, Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew expressed his thanks for this positive gesture and told the meeting that this would help Ethiopia to continue to improve its responsibilities for hosting the African Union.
The first Mid-Year Coordination meeting which included the leaders of the Bureau of the Assembly and leaders of the countries chairing the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) was held on Monday (July 8). The meeting considered reports presented to it on the division of labour between the AU, RECs and member States as well as amendments to the protocol governing relations between the AU and RECs. It also provisionally adopted its own Rules of Procedure, subject to final adoption by the February 2020 Summit.
The Twelfth Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union to launch the huge free trade area encompassing most countries of the continent, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was held on Sunday (July 7). The creation of this single market for goods and services is a key element of the AU’s ambitious Agenda 2063. The adoption of common standards and the progressive elimination of customs duties will promote the industrialization of economies and increase regional trade. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has estimated that the AfCFTA will increase intra-African trade by 33% and generate $16.1bn in additional revenue.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is the largest free trade area in the world. So far 54 countries have signed the AfCFTA agreement since its creation in July last year. It came into effect after ratification by more than 22 countries on 30 May this year. With only a marginal role in world trade, its share is below 3%, the African continent was building unity at the Niamey Summit to bolster intra-regional commerce. The establishment of this AfCFTA zone will serve as a driving force for Africa’s development. Currently, only 16% of African countries’ trade is with other countries on the continent. Intra-European trade, by contrast, amounts to 65%. With the rallying of Nigeria to the agreement, a country which accounts for 17% of African GDP, the signatories of the AfCFTA could create the world’s largest free trade area, with an internal market of 1.2billion people and a combined GDP of $2.5trllion.
A series of Instruments for the AfCFTA have been launched as an integral part of the agreement. These included the launching of the Agreed Rules of Origin, the Non-Tariff Barrier Reporting, Monitoring and Elimination Mechanism, the African Trade Observatory, a Password Protected Online Tariff Offer Negotiation Platform, the Pan African Online Payment Settlement System and the AfCFTA Mobile Apps. The Summit also decided that the final schedule of Tariff Concession and outstanding rules of origin for the AfCFTA should be submitted to the next session of the Assembly in February 2020. It was agreed the dismantling of tariffs should start no later than July 2020 to allow for the start of trading goods within the AfCFTA regime on the same day.
The Twelfth Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union designated Ghana as the host country for the headquarters of the permanent AfCFTA General Secretariat. It also declared that July 7, the date when the AfCFTA was launched, should be designated as African Integration Day and commemorated yearly.
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Sudan mediation and the Joint Ethiopia-African Union proposal
The Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) in Sudan after face-to-face meetings came to an agreement on Friday last week (July 5). The need for a peaceful political transition in the Sudan has been a major preoccupation over the last couple of months. There have been ongoing efforts to facilitate dialogue between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC). Ethiopia has been actively engaged in trying to help Sudanese stakeholders come to a common understanding on the way forward. Aiming to resolve the current political crisis in the country, it submitted a Declaration of Principles to the parties, basically reaffirms the points of agreement reached by the parties earlier, and proposing recommendations on addressing outstanding issues, particularly on the leadership and composition of the Sovereign Council.
Ethiopia has been working closely with the African Union in engaging with the Sudanese stakeholders. The Special Envoy of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Mahmoud Dirir and the Special Advisor of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Professor Labatt coordinated their efforts on the ground. They consolidated the respective proposals into one and a joint Ethiopia-AU proposal was submitted to the parties.
This Joint Proposal mainly focused on the Sovereign Council and the Executive Council, providing for postponement of the discussions on the composition of the Legislative Council to a later date. It included basic principles for guiding the two parties and the issues which require attention during the envisaged transition period, and was revised on the basis of written comments received from both parties. The most important sticking issue remained the leadership of the Sovereign Council and Ethiopia and the African Union, therefore, made efforts to convince the parties to have direct negotiation to iron out their differences.
Following this, the parties met face-to-face, and agreed on a range of issues, breaking the political deadlock and renewing a sense of hope for peace in the Sudan. They decided to establish an eleven-member Sovereign Council, which will be composed of five members each from the TMC and the FFC, with one additional independent member to be agreed by both sides. The parties also agreed that the transitional period will last for three years, during which the military would lead the Sovereign Council for the first 21 months, and a civilian would take over for the remaining 18 months. The FFC would appoint a Cabinet of ministers and the Prime Minister, while the Defense and Home Affairs Ministries will be reserved for the TMC.
The parties have now set up a technical committee to work on the agreement and make it ready for signature. Following these positive developments, political detainees have been released and internet access has also been restored. The parties have also agreed to conduct an independent investigation into the June 3rd incident in Khartoum and the measures taken to disperse protestors.
The agreement reached by the parties was widely welcomed in Sudan and beyond. The Sudanese people came out on the streets to celebrate this positive development. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed congratulated the parties for reaching an agreement and applauded the diligence and diplomatic skills of the two Special Envoys, Ambassador Mohamoud Dirir and Professor Mohamed Hacen Al-Labatt in facilitating the deal. Dr. Abiy reiterated the Ethiopian government’s continued support, and said, “The government of Ethiopia wishes a prosperous and peaceful new chapter for Sudan.” African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, warmly congratulated the two sides for “reaching a consensual and balanced peace agreement towards a democratic transition and civilian rule in Sudan,” and urged the parties to maintain this spirit of compromise and responsibility for the national interests of Sudan. UN Secretary-General Antonio-Guterres congratulated the African Union and Ethiopia for their role in mediating the Sudanese-led talks and commended IGAD for its support to the process. He encouraged all stakeholders to ensure the timely, inclusive, and transparent implementation of the agreement and resolve any outstanding issues through dialogue.
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First anniversary of Eritrea and Ethiopia’s Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship
The first anniversary of the signing of the historic peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia fell on Monday this week (July 9). The agreement marked the end of twenty years of diplomatic disconnect and the state of “no peace no war” which had persisted since 2000. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki said they were choosing love and forgiveness over hatred and violence, signing a peace agreement in the Eritrean capital Asmara on July 9, 2018, to announce the beginning of a new era of peace and friendship, opening a new page that ended years of conflict; a week later President Isaias was making an equally welcome visit to Addis Ababa.
The “Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship” signed on July 9 during Prime Minister Dr, Abiy’s visit to Asmara, offers the basis for the roadmap for future relations. It has five pillars:
The state of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea has come to an end and a new era of peace and friendship opened; they agreed to endeavour to forge intimate political, economic, social, cultural and security cooperation to serve and advance the vital interests of both peoples;
transport, trade and communications links between the two countries would resume and diplomatic ties and activities restart; the decision on the boundary between the two countries would be implemented; and both countries would jointly endeavour to ensure regional peace, development and cooperation.
Dr. Abiy told President Isaias after his return to Addis Ababa that he was “elated with the historic breakthrough we have made in our sincere effort to bring a lasting peace between our two nations. I am immensely encouraged by the great strides we were able to take and the mutual trust and friendship we quickly forged.” He said: “we can confidently say we have effectively closed a bitter and destructive chapter in our two nations’ histories that had lasted way too long.” He noted Ethiopia was keen to implement the terms laid out in the Joint Declaration to make up quickly for lost opportunities and said: “I sincerely hope and believe that the process we have started will continue with the same enthusiasm and energy as was evident during this summit.”
Since then there have been a number of visits by leading figures and public diplomacy delegations, music festivals, the restoration of telecommunication links and flights as well as the opening of embassies in Addis Ababa and Asmara respectively. Indeed, as Eritrea’s Minister of Information said this week: “After the two countries signed the historic peace agreement to end two decades of war and conflict, they are working seriously to implement the five pillars of the agreement to strengthen regional cooperation.”
At the beginning of last year, people in the Horn of Africa still felt desperate about the long hopeless years of conflict and the failure to make any progress in dismantling the state of “no peace, no war”. No possibilities for change appeared to make any headway. Yet within a few weeks after Dr. Abiy became Prime Minister of Ethiopia in April, the situation had changed. The parties had signed a peace agreement and a series of other peace processes had started in the Horn of Africa, hostile relations were being replaced by negotiation, dialogue, and new connections.
In Ethiopia, the process was also accompanied by a reform process, promoting internal reconciliation, enforcing solidarity and (re)-establishing the political system as well as
establishing a new and inclusive government that includes a Peace Ministry and definition of a new political philosophy, medemer. Indeed, the peace process has proved “contagious,” leading to a series of peace talks and arrangements across the region. Constant talk of war has been replaced by conversations about peace, improving human rights and greater economic co-operation.
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The 25th Ethiopia-Djibouti Joint Border Administrators’ meeting in Djibouti
The 25th Ethiopia–Djibouti Joint Border Administrators’ Meeting was held in Ali-Sabieh, in Djibouti earlier this month (July 2-4). The Ethiopian Delegation was led by Yibeltal Aemero, Director-General for Neighboring Countries and IGAD Affairs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his remarks at the opening of the meeting, Yibeltal underlined the importance of cooperation at border administrators’ level for the bilateral relations. He mentioned the need to manage and expand the growing interaction along the border and address the challenges, including illicit trade, human trafficking, small arms trade, smuggling and cross-border diseases.
Sirag Omar Abdulkadir, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior of Djibouti and head of the Djibouti delegation, expressed the importance of considering common issues such as cross-border trade, irregular migration, movement of peoples and goods. He pointed out the willingness of the Government of Djibouti to set up a Joint Special Fund dedicated exclusively to create favourable conditions to improve the living conditions of the communities across both sides of the common border.
The meeting deliberated on a range of important issues under two clusters. On Political and Security matters, the meeting discussed issues related to border security, immigration and the movement of people, transport including the movement of vehicles and bus services, and the movement of pastoralists, human trafficking and irregular migration. On economic and social matters, they discussed border trade, customs and illicit trade, and health related issues as well as agriculture and livestock issues.
The meeting also noted the importance of excellent cooperation and working relationships along the border to facilitate exchanges of information and address common challenges. Participants recognized the challenge of uncontrolled borders identifying human and arms trafficking as well as other criminal activities as a major security problem along the common border. They emphasized the need to enhance close cooperation and coordination to respond to this. They also recognized the need to enhance cooperation on immigration and the movement of people and goods; and agreed to establish a technical committee to set up a border post at Beleho.
The meeting underlined the importance of the transport sector and the need to ensure the smooth movement of trucks across the border. The two sides decided to activate an ad-hoc committee, with members from all relevant stakeholders to tackle issues encountered along the transport corridor. In this context, they agreed on the importance of expediting the construction and maintenance work along the Dikil-Galafi road.
The two sides also expressed satisfaction over cooperation in facilitating the smooth movement of pastoralists along the border, particularly during the rainy season. They agreed to share information on cattle rustling and smuggling. They recognized the impact of migration and human trafficking and agreed to take a further series of measures to ensure greater coordination in tackling both human trafficking and illegal migration, enhancing patrols along the border, strengthening control of check points and sea outlets, cooperating in taking legal measures against human traffickers and smugglers, and in tackling the smuggling networks and facilitating voluntary returns.
The two countries agreed to implement the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the Agricultural Ministries of Ethiopia and Djibouti to exchange information on transboundary animal health issues and cooperate on the prevention of trans-border animal disease and illicit animal trade. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in information exchanges and surveillance of disease outbreaks, and other health issues, including prevention of trading in expired drugs and foods along the border.
Implementation of the measures agreed by both sides during the meeting will go a long way to address the issues and challenges that both administrations face along their common border. The Joint Border Administrators’ mechanism remains an important platform for strengthening people-to-people ties along the border and for further strengthening bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Djibouti. The next meeting of the Joint Border Administrators will be held in Ethiopia and it will be Jijiga’s turn to host the meeting in January 2020.
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African Regional High-level Conference on Counter-terrorism held in Nairobi
The African Regional High-level Conference on Counter-terrorism and the Prevention of Violent Extremism was held on Wednesday and Thursday this week (July 11-12) in Nairobi, Kenya, co-organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and the Government of Kenya. It brought together participants from different countries and international governmental and non-governmental organizations working on countering violent extremism and terrorism. President Kenyatta of Kenya, African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, attended the opening session.
President Kenyatta underlined that terrorism was a challenge and a threat to Pan-Africanism. He urged participants to advocate robust reforms to combat terrorism, and called for the African Union to work towards forging a strong political consensus to counter and defeat terrorism and violent extremism. UN Secretary-General Guterres said there was an urgent need for the international community to support African states: the people of Africa were on the front line of efforts to tackle terrorism and the spread of violent extremism. He welcomed the determination of Africans to find solutions to terrorism, and highlighted the “inspirational” role of women in prevention. He wanted the conference would underline the continuing need to address drivers and enablers of violent extremism, consider practical ways to harness the creativity, energy and power of young people, exchange ideas on how to support victims and survivors of terrorism, and discuss how the United Nations can enhance its counter-terrorism support to African Member States and regional and sub-regional organizations.
The international community, he said, must step up its support for African-owned and African-led efforts in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. Fighting terrorism and preventing extremism in Africa is essential to preserve peace and security in the world. African efforts needed long-term political commitment from the international community. In addition to “strong and clear mandates” from the Security Council, he insisted that there should also be “sufficient, predictable and sustainable financial support” for African peace-enforcing and counter-terrorism operations. He said: “We must not allow terrorism to undermine the great progress that is being made on this continent,” insisting that an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa remained a top priority for the United Nations. For terrorism to be defeated, he said, it is essential that African counter-terrorism to be holistic, well-funded, underpinned by respect for human rights and backed by strong political will.
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Ambassador Meles Alem, shared Ethiopia’s approach in preventing and countering terrorism. He noted Ethiopia was now pursuing a reformist approach to combating terrorism. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia had embarked on reforming the political, security, and judiciary sectors and identified the protection of human rights, promotion of the rule of law, and good governance as the most effective approaches in preventing and countering terrorism. The reforms had widened the political space, allowing the release of political prisoners and the removal of several organizations from the Ethiopian Parliament’s terror list. They had broadened political participation, allowing former political prisoners and other political organizations to play a crucial role in rebuilding Ethiopia in general and in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism in particular. Ambassador Meles Alem concluded that the Ethiopian method was political; the Ethiopian framework was participatory; and the Ethiopian initiative was reform.
The meeting, a follow-up to last year’s first-ever United Nations High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States in New York convened by Secretary-General Guterres in June last year, provided a platform to craft a cohesive and broad-based approach to develop a counter-terrorism policy for the region, and the lead-in to the next High-level Conference to be held in June 2020 in New York to promote the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. It focused on broad-based counter-terrorism measures including the deployment of anti-terrorism police, increased budgetary allocations for equipment, role of the international community and intensified border patrols, as well as the role of local communities and their leaders. It agreed on the need to mobilize efforts of the United Nations and the international community in support of the efforts of African countries to prevent terrorism and violent extremism and provide for effective counter-terrorist activity and policies.
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Ethiopia at the Abu Dhabi High-level meeting on Climate Action
A preparatory high-level meeting for the forthcoming Climate Action Summit was held in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the month (June 30-July 1). Ethiopia’s delegation was led by Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Dr. Sileshi Bekele. The meeting was seen as the main milestone in the preparatory process to evaluate and strengthen initiatives, achievements, and commitments that will feature at the UN Climate Summit in September this year, during the General Assembly session.
The Climate Action Summit will bring together governments, the private sector, civil society, local authorities and other international organizations to develop ambitious solutions in areas such as a global transition to renewable energy; sustainable and resilient infrastructures and cities; sustainable agriculture and management of forests and oceans; resilience and adaptation to climate impacts; and alignment of public and private finance with a net zero carbon economy. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all leaders to come to New York on September 23 with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions by 2020, to combat global warming. The Secretary-General has also called for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 45% over the next decade, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Ethiopia is co-leading the Energy Transition work-stream with Denmark and the supporting institution SEforAll. The Energy Transition track seeks to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, as well as making significant gains in energy efficiency and expand access. Coalition member countries, which include Colombia, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco and Palau, are also working with the co-leads, focusing on the main elements of accelerating energy transition, including boosting renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, access and innovation as well as mobilizing investments for the energy transition. Following the Paris agreement, many Least Developed Countries made ambitious commitments to move to 100% renewable energy by 2030. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report published on October, 2018, underlined the critical need to ensure no one is left behind. As a co-lead, Ethiopia, in particular, has stressed the ‘leaving-no-one-behind” agenda for ensuring access for affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, Sustainable Development Goal 7.
The Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the UN, Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie, along with the Special Envoy for Climate and Energy of Denmark, Mr. Ditlev Engel, presented the work of the Energy Transition work-stream in Abu Dhabi. Their presentation highlighted the creation of coalitions of interest on issues such as energy efficiency and cooling; the declutter of sustainable energy financing and an increase in the level of private investments in clean energy transition and access. It also noted help to realize the ambitions of groups of countries willing to make commitments on renewable energy as well as assist in areas such as shipping to lead the way for system change and create breakthroughs on enabling technologies for storage and hydrogen.
With regard to energy access, Ambassador Taye noted that in Sub-Saharan Africa almost 600 million people still lack access to electricity and nearly 80% of Africans still cook with inefficient and polluting biomass, a figure that has hardly changed in the last decade. He emphasized the need to realize the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals while also reducing emissions to net-zero by 2050. Ambassador Taye and Mr. Engel reiterated the message that “if we get the energy transition right, it will bring huge opportunities for generating economic benefits, job-creation, reduced air pollution and human well-being.” They added: “We must accelerate the global energy transition to reach the Paris Agreement and meet the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Ethiopia and Denmark, together with the UAE host, also chaired a high-level roundtable on the Energy Transition. Dr. Seleshi underlined Ethiopia’s insistence on prioritizing the most vulnerable first. He urged the importance of making sure climate financing increased from the US$10 Billion raised to date to match the promised US$100 billion, in “new and additional” funds to help the most needy and deprived developing countries to deal with the worst effects of climate change. The meeting agreed a clearly defined Least Developed Country package was needed for September along with clear actions for filtering the most important intervention areas, including renewable energy, de-carbonization, and alarming emissions.
