Tunisia Seeks a UN Role in Resolving Ethiopia-Egypt Dam Dispute

(Bloomberg) -- Tunisia is pushing Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations and reach a binding agreement on the Nile dam within six months, according to a draft resolution circulated to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.

The Tunisian resolution, circulated ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the dam on Thursday, calls for talks to be hosted by the African Union and the UN’s secretary-general.

Referring to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the draft calls for an “agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD that ensures Ethiopia’s ability to generate hydropower from the GERD while preventing the inflicting of significant harm on the water security of downstream states,” according to a copy of the draft seen by Bloomberg News.

Ethiopia has remained largely intransigent in the face of efforts to engage outside help, rejecting a recent Egyptian-Sudanese proposal to add the UN, the U.S. and the European Union as mediators. Ethiopia argues that the project, which includes a 6,000-megawatt power plant, is key to its long-term development goals and has sought to downplay concerns by Egypt and Sudan that the project will limit their access to water.

Egypt and Sudan have condemned Ethiopia for starting the second phase of filling the project’s reservoir, saying the move violates existing agreements and threatens security in the region. The step “represents a dangerous escalation that reveals Ethiopia’s bad faith,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said earlier this week. The move violates international laws and norms and existing agreements on sharing Nile water, it said.

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The resolution sought by Tunisia calls upon “the three countries to refrain from making any statements, or taking any action that may jeopardize the negotiation process, and urges Ethiopia to refrain from continuing to unilaterally fill the GERD reservoir.”

Both Egypt and Sudan rely heavily on the Nile for fresh water. Cairo has been particularly bellicose in its objections, with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi warning earlier this year that any attempt to take “a drop of Egypt’s water” would have destabilizing effects on the region.

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