The ethiopian- eritrean conflict: the way to reconciliation
The paper explores the reasons for the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and gives an account of the countries’ relations in the past. The border conflict, which erupted in 1998, significantly deteriorated the relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and led to the complete severance of their ties. The article considers the role of the international community’s mediation efforts to resolve the conflict, especially the contribution of the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the normalization of the situation in the Horn of Africa. Though the peace process ended in the Algiers Agreement of 2000, which was supposed to bring a formal end to the war, the conflict became «frozen» due to the tensions which remained between the countries. Particular attention in the article is given to the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) and the issue of its effectiveness in terms of settling the conflict. The relevance of the article stems from the fact that the Ethiopian government’s decision of 2018 to fully accept the ruling of the Boundary Commission has revitalized the peace process and led to the signing of the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship between the countries. In October 2019, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to forging a peace deal with Eritrea. The bilateral peace agreement has launched a new era in the countries’ relations and put an end to the «no war, no peace» situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea.