Johannesburg - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) lifted a range of sanctions against Eritrea four months after that country and Ethiopia signed a peace agreement that UN chief António Guterres described as “a wind blowing in the direction of peace”.
The UN on Wednesday lifted the sanctions at its headquarters in New York. One of the prerequisites for signing the peace agreement in July was that Ethiopia push for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to lift the sanctions.
The Eritrean Permanent Representative to the UN, Amanuel Giorgio, hailed the lifting of the sanctions as marking the end of a difficult period for Eritrea and the region.
“The peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the tripartite agreement between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, mark the beginning of a new dawn,” Giorgio said.
The United Kingdom chaired the drafting process of the resolution to lift sanctions with the UK’s ambassador to the UN, Karen Pierce saying that the resolution recognised improvements in regional peace and security.
Speaking on behalf of Ethiopia, Taye Atske Selassie Made, permanent representative of his country to the UN, welcomed “unreservedly” the adoption of the resolution which, he said, his country fully supported.
The UNSC meeting also reaffirmed the arms embargo on Somalia, and requested that the UN Secretary-General conduct a technical assessment of the embargo in force against the country.