OAU Proposal for an Agreement on Cessation of Hostilties Between Ethiopia & Eritrea

Organization of African Unity Signed June 18, 2000, Algiers, Algeria

Proposal of the OAU for an Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities Between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Government of the State of Eritrea

Having taken part in the Proximity Talks called by the Organization of African Unity in Algiers from 29 May to 10 June 2000, under the Chairmanship of Algeria the Current Chair of the OAU and with the participation of its partners namely the United States and the European Union,

Committing themselves to the following principles:

· Resolution of the present crisis and any other dispute between them through peaceful and legal means in accordance with the principles enshrined in the charters of the OAU and the United Nations;

· Rejection of the use of force as a means of imposing solutions to disputes;

· Respect for the borders existing at independence as stated in resolution AHG/Res 16(1) adopted by the OAU Summit in Cairo in 1964 and, in this regard, determine them on the basis of pertinent colonial treaties and applicable international law, making use, to that end, of technical means to demarcate the borders and, in case of controversy, resort to the appropriate mechanism of arbitration;

Reaffirming their acceptance of the OAU Framework Agreement and the Modalities for its Implementation which have been endorsed by the 35th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Algiers, Algeria from 12 to 14 July 1999,

Taking into account the latest developments in this crisis,

Commit themselves to the following:

1. 1 - Immediate cessation of hostilities starting from the signature of this document. In particular the two Parties agree to the following:
1- 1 cessation of all armed air and land attacks;
1- 2 guarantee of the free movement and access of the Peacekeeping Mission and its supplies as required through the territories of the Parties;
1- 3 respect and protection of the members of the Peacekeeping Mission, its installations and equipment.

2. - A Peacekeeping Mission shall be deployed by the United Nations under the auspices of the OAU.

3. - The mandate of the Peacekeeping Mission shall be:
3-1 monitor the cessation of hostilities;
3-2 monitor the redeployment of Ethiopian troops;
3-3 ensure the observance of the security commitments agreed by the two Parties in this document, in particular those provided for in paragraph 14;

4. -The size and the composition of the Peacekeeping Mission shall be adapted to the mission assigned to it and shall be determined by the Secretaries General of the United Nations and the OAU with the acceptance of the two Parties.

5. -The Peacekeeping Mission shall terminate when the delimitation-demarcation process of the border has been completed.

6. - A Military Co-ordination Commission shall be established by the OAU and the United Nations with agreement of the two Parties in order to facilitate the functions of the Peacekeeping Mission. It shall be composed of representatives of the two Parties and chaired by the leader of the Peacekeeping Mission.

7. - The mandate of the Military Co-ordination Commission shall be to co-ordinate and resolve issues relating to the implementation of the mandate of the Peacekeeping Mission as defined in the present document. The Commission shall deal with military issues arising during the implementation period.

8. - Upon the signing of the present document, both Parties shall conduct demining activities as soon as possible with a view to creating the conditions necessary for the deployment of the Peacekeeping Mission, the return of civilian administration and the return of population as well as the delimitation and demarcation of their common border. The Peacekeeping Mission, in conjunction with the United Nations Mine Action Service, will assist the Parties' demining efforts by providing technical advice and coordination. The Parties shall, as necessary, seek additional demining assistance from the Peacekeeping Mission.

9. - Ethiopia shall submit redeployment plans for its troops from positions taken after 6 February 1999, and which were not under Ethiopian administration before 6 May 1998, to the Peacekeeping Mission. This redeployment shall be completed within two weeks after the deployment of the Peacekeeping Mission and verified by it.

10. - In accordance with the principle established in paragraph 3 of the Framework Agreement, it is understood that the redeployment of Ethiopian forces will not prejudge the final status of the contested areas, which will be determined at the end of the delimitation and demarcation of the border and, if need be, through an appropriate mechanism of arbitration.

11. - Upon verification of Ethiopian redeployment by the Peacekeeping Mission, Eritrean civilian administration, including police and local militia, will be restored to prepare for the return of the population.

12. - In order to contribute to the reduction of tension and to the establishment of a climate of calm and confidence, as well as to create conditions conducive to a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the conflict through the delimitation and demarcation of the border, the Eritrean forces shall remain at a distance of 25 km (artillery range) from positions to which Ethiopian forces shall redeploy in accordance with paragraph 9 of this document. This zone of separation shall be referred to in this document as the "temporary security zone."

13. - The Eritrean forces at positions defined in paragraph 12 of this document, as well as Ethiopian forces at positions defined in paragraph 9 of this document, shall be monitored by the Peacekeeping Mission.

14. - Ethiopia commits itself not to move its troops beyond the positions it administered before 6 May 1998. Eritrea commits itself not to move its troops beyond the positions defined in paragraph 12 above. The OAU and the United Nations commit themselves to guarantee the respect for this commitment of the two Parties until the determination of the common border on the basis of pertinent colonial treaties and applicable international law, through delimitation/demarcation and in case of controversy, through the appropriate mechanism of arbitration. This guarantee shall be comprised of:

a) measures to be taken by the international community should one or both of the Parties violate this commitment, including appropriate measures to be taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter by the UN Security Council;
b) actions by the Peacekeeping Mission to monitor key and sensitive areas of the temporary security zone through liaison officers at the division and regimental levels with Ethiopian and Eritrean units deployed at key points along the temporary security zone on their respective sides; regular patrols; reconnaissance missions; and challenge inspections throughout the temporary security zone coordinated through the Military Co-ordination Commission with the participation of liaison officers of the Parties as decided by the Chairman of the Military Co-ordination Commission;
c) deployment to and continuous monitoring by military units of the Peacekeeping Mission at posts in key and sensitive positions within the temporary security zone in order to monitor the implementation of the commitments made by both Parties in paragraphs 9 and 12 of this document;
d) periodic technical verification of the temporary security zone to help determine compliance with this document.

15. 15 - Upon the signature of the present document, the two Parties shall initiate separate requests to the Secretaries General of the OAU and the United Nations, as necessary, for assistance to implement this document.

For the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia

For the Government of the State of Eritrea Of