· South Africa, the current African Union chair supported Ethiopian stand that the issue should be handled by the AU.
· It is reported that despite a decision taken on June 27 by the Bureau of the Assembly of the AU to delay filling of Dam, Ethiopia has continued its plan
Egypt approached the UN Security Council to resolve the dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over the commencement of the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). However, Ethiopia strongly opposed arbitration by the United Nations Security Council during a video conference on June 29. South Africa, the current African Union chair supported Ethiopian stand that the issue should be handled by the AU. Consequently, the dispute has now moved to the African Union for resolution.
Justifying the stand taken by Ethiopia, Taye Atske-Selassie, Ethiopia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said that the intervention of the UN was bound to set a bad precedent leading to hardening positions and making compromise even more difficult. He felt that The African Union should encourage the three countries to return to the tripartite negotiations as the only means of finding an amicable solution. On its part, the UN assured assistance through technical and expert support, for the AU-led process.
It is reported that despite a decision taken on June 27 by the Bureau of the Assembly of the AU to delay the filling of Dam, Ethiopia has continued its plan of filling the Dam. The Bureau held an Extraordinary meeting under the chairmanship of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The meeting had announced later that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia had agreed to resume tripartite consultations to resolve the outstanding issues.
