The United Nations stands acceptable to support Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in efforts to resoluteness their decade-long disagreement over the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), elder officials told the Security Council connected Thursday. 

UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, reported that caller negotiations nether the African Union (AU) person yielded small progress. 

The parties person been incapable to hold a model for engagement to settee outstanding issues, which see a quality solution mechanics arsenic good arsenic the absorption of the dam during protracted drought. 

“The United Nations remains disposable to beforehand a win-win solution successful supporting Member States successful navigating this analyzable issue, wherever genuine governmental will, compromise and bully neighborliness are essential,” helium said. 

Tensions increasing 

The quality implicit the GERD dates backmost to April 2011, erstwhile Ethiopia began gathering the dam connected the Blue Nile, acceptable to beryllium the largest hydroelectric powerfulness task successful Africa. 

When finished, it volition store 74 cardinal cubic metres of h2o and make much than 5,000 megawatts of electricity. 

Construction is nearing completion, and past twelvemonth the reservoir down the dam began to capable for the archetypal time. Ethiopia this week announced it has begun filling again.  

Egypt and Sudan person objected, stating that immoderate further filling should hap successful the discourse of an agreed framework. 

While shared h2o resources person been the origin of contention, they tin besides beryllium the instauration for cooperation, the caput of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, told ambassadors. 

“At this stage, and with different sources of determination hostility increasing, we indispensable admit that overcoming the remaining differences among the parties volition necessitate careful, meticulous work, supported by the applicable method and ineligible experts and with a determination by the 3 states to get astatine a cooperative solution, successful pursuit of sustainable improvement for each successful the tone of ‘one river, 1 people, 1 vision’,” she said. 

Agreement possible 

Ms. Andersen stressed that an statement connected the dam tin beryllium reached, and indispensable beryllium reached, portion underlining the UN’s readiness to enactment the countries, and the African Union, successful reaching an statement that is beneficial to each sides. 

Cooperation among the 3 countries has ne'er been much important arsenic request for h2o rises, she added, owed to factors specified arsenic colonisation growth, urbanization and industrialization. At the aforesaid time, they besides look the menace of accrued flooding, and much aggravated droughts, owed to clime change. 

 “It is truthful imperative that the parties enactment unneurotic to negociate these interconnected challenges,” she said. “To scope an optimal agreement, spot and transparency and unfastened engagement volition beryllium key.”