The next few weeks will go far to determining
whether Ethiopia and Eritrea resume a path toward war – which took some 100,000 lives between 1998
and 2000 – or solidify their peace agreement.
Ethiopia must decide whether to allow demarcation
of the border to begin in October 2003 even though the international Boundary Commission set up
under the Algiers agreement that ended the fighting has ruled that the town of Badme , the original
flashpoint of the war, is on the Eritrean side. The outcome will have profound implications for both
countries and the entire Horn of Africa, as well as for international law and the sanctity of binding
peace agreements and arbitration processes. The international community, particularly the U.S., the
African Union (AU), and the European Union
(EU), all of which played major roles in brokering
the Algiers agreement, need to engage urgently to help Ethiopia move the demarcation forward and to assist both parties to devise a package of measures
that can reduce the humanitarian costs of border adjustments and otherwise make implementation of
the demarcation more politically palatable.
