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Questions_and_Answers_Oct2Dec_2006
12 Dec 2006
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the UK played in the United Nations Commission to demarcate the borders of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Mr. Hoon: Under the Algiers Agreement, Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to binding international arbitration to determine their common border and the Boundary Commission was established for that purpose. It is not a United Nations Commission. The UK was not a Witness to the Algiers Agreement and plays no part in the Boundary Commission. We continue to urge Ethiopia and Eritrea to demarcate the border in accordance with the Boundary Commission’s decision.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the political situation in the Horn of Africa.
Mr. McCartney: We are very concerned about the increasing tension in the Horn of Africa. The Union of Islamic Courts is threatening the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia. Tension continues between Ethiopia and Eritrea over their disputed border. Further conflict would have severe humanitarian consequences and could destabilise the entire region. We are working with international partners and regional Governments to achieve peaceful solutions to these disputes.
6 Nov 2006
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the United Nations is making progress towards the agreed demilitarisation of certain zones on the frontier of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The UN Secretary-General expressed his deep concern about a large-scale incursion of Eritrean Defence Force troops into the temporary security zone on 16 October and urged the Government of Eritrea to withdraw immediately and to co-operate with the UN in restoring the ceasefire arrangements. We fully share the Secretary-General's concerns and reiterate the UN Security Council's calls on Eritrea to maintain the ceasefire arrangements and to extend full and unconditional co-operation to the UN's Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea and on both parties to implement fully the decision of the Ethiopia/Eritrea Boundary Commission on demarcating the border.
30 Nov 2006
Lord Howell of Guildford: My Lords, the Minister is right that the situation is very complex. The noble Lord's Question rightly refers to international conflict. That is not the position now, and I value the Minister's comments that both Ethiopia and Eritrea are being rapidly sucked into this disastrous conflict, that there is a huge Somalian minority in Ethiopia and clearly the country feels threatened, and that enormous dangers portend, as the Minister has indicated, of turning the whole of the Horn of Africa into yet another area of turbulence equal to the Middle East. Can she say what information we have on active terrorist involvement in all these areas at the moment? Are there signs that the al-Qaeda franchise or other terrorists groups are operating, and how can she most clearly define Britain's own interest in seeking to co-operate with other countries through the UN and elsewhere to prevent yet another major conflagration?
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the important issue of Ethiopia. We are aware of reports of Ethiopian and other foreign troops in Somalia. UK officials have delivered very strong messages to the Ethiopians to hold back from war. In respect of the wider issues of global terrorism, we monitor all the reports that are coming forward. We speak to our partners, the US, and our partners in the European Union very often on this issue. We are watching and we are ready to act when necessary; but we monitor the situation very closely.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of (a) the situation in Ethiopia and (b) the risk of a conflict with Somalia.
Mr. McCartney: I am concerned at rising tension in the Horn of Africa. The unresolved border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea continues to foster hostility. There is a risk of confrontation between Ethiopia and the Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia, which would have serious implications for the region.
The UK's position remains clear. There should be no return to conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Boundary Commission's decision remains final and binding. We urge both parties to work with the Boundary Commission to agree demarcation of the border. We urge all states in the region to respect the UN arms embargo on Somalia and do nothing which would provoke violence there. We continue to work with our international partners to find peaceful solutions to the conflicts in the Horn of Africa.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of reports that fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Eritrea have entered Somalia in support of the Union of Islamic Courts; and if she will make a statement. [101978]
Margaret Beckett: The report of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia alleges that foreign fighters have entered Somalia in answer to calls for jihad that have been uttered by members of the Union of Islamic Courts. We have no reliable assessment of the numbers involved. We continue to urge all parties in Somalia to renounce violence and resolve their differences through dialogue.
25 Oct 2006
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the security situation on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border.
Margaret Beckett: We are deeply concerned over reports that Eritrean Defence forces have moved troops and tanks into the Temporary Security Zone contrary to the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities of 18 June 2000 Together with our Security Council partners, we have urged Eritrea to withdraw immediately its troops from the Temporary Security Zone and to extend its full and unconditional cooperation to the UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia, particularly to maintain the ceasefire arrangements in place. We join Security Council partners in calling on both parties to show maximum restraint and to refrain from any threat or use of force against each other. The UK remains committed to the full and expeditious implementation of the Algiers Agreements and implementation of the final and binding decision of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What response the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have made to the United Nations Security Council's call for both parties to co-operate fully with the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in order to resume the demarcation process. [HL6166]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We have not seen a formal statement by Ethiopia or Eritrea in response to UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1678 (2006). Eritrea declined to attend a meeting of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, which had been planned for 15 June. We continue to urge both parties to comply with the UNSC's demands and to co-operate with the boundary commission to achieve demarcation of their common border.